Stocks slipped on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 backing off from a record close, as a decline in consumer confidence outweighed better-than-expected earnings from Home Depot.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed unofficially 27 points lower, the S&P 500 was off 2 points and the Nasdaq fell 5 points.
The closely-watched S&P/Case Shiller composite index of home prices in 20 metro areas gained 0.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence declined to 78.1 in February from a revised 79.4 reading in January. Economists polled by Reuters expected this month's reading to come in at 80.
Home Depot's shares rose 4 percent after the home-improvement retailer reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street's estimates, and hiked its quarterly dividend by 21 percent. Tesla shares rose 13 percent after the electric carmaker's Model S was the top overall pick among those surveyed by Consumer Reports.
The U.S. dollar fell as Treasury prices rose.
