Wall Street pulls back after S&P rises to near 1700

U.S. stocks struggled Tuesday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 touched fresh record highs. The S&P 500 moved up within the psychological mark of 1,700 points shortly after Wall Street opened on better-than-expected corporate earnings, with Apple's results due in after the closing bell. Dow component DuPont on Tuesday reported 1.03 billion U.S. dollars in profit, or 1.11 dollars per share, on total sales of 10. 0 billion dollars in the second quarter, lower than their year-ago levels. But the U.S. chemical firm's adjusted earnings of 1.28 dollars per share beat analysts' estimate by just one cent. DuPont shares rose 0.56 percent to 57.49 dollars per share in midday trading. Investors' eyes are all on Apple for its quarterly earnings report. Analysts expected the tech giant's quarterly profits to fall more than 21 percent and its revenues to increase 0.2 percent. The market also regained momentum from buoyant stock market in China Tuesday which sent the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up nearly 2 percent as the country's securities regulator is reportedly delaying resumption of an initial public offering. But the market lost its gaining momentum after major indices set record highs as investors still fretted over ongoing corporate earnings. On the economic front, U.S. house price appreciation continued in May, rising 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous month, marking the 16th consecutive monthly price increase, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency monthly House Price Index (HPI) report. U.S. manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region declined in July, according to the most recent survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. However, looking six months ahead, manufacturers were optimistic about business. In midday trading, the Dow gained 16.28 points, or 0.10 percent, to 15,561.83 points. The S&P 500 lost 2.86 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,692.67 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 13.89 points, or 0.39 percent, to 3,586.50 points.