US STOCKS-Wall Street falls on tech, China worries

                                

                                
 * Apple, IBM slide after earnings
                                
 * China raises one-year interest rates by 25 basis points
                                
 * Indexes down: Dow 0.9 pct; S&P 0.9 pct; Nasdaq 1.1 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
 (Updates to morning trading)
                                
 By Rodrigo Campos
                                
 NEW YORK, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Results and outlooks from
consumer and technology titans Apple and IBM sent U.S. stock
indexes lower on Tuesday as disappointed investors worried
about the strength of corporate earnings.
                                
 A move by China to raise its benchmark one-year lending and
deposit rate by 25 basis points, effective Wednesday, also
weighed on sentiment. Any signal that China is trying to cool
its economy, the engine of global growth, hampers equities.
                                
 "Largely a couple of favorite stocks plus anything related
to China has been a good driver of the (recent) rally," said
Eric Kuby, chief investment officer at North Star Investment
Management Corp in Chicago. "With all that going the wrong way
today, you are seeing a pullback."
                                
 The basic materials sector <.GSPM>, closely linked to
consumption in China, was the worst performer in the S&P 500.
                                
 The S&P 500 index is up 11.4 percent since Sept. 1, and
Apple Inc shares have risen almost 28 percent since then.
                                
 "The rally has shown a lot of resilience, and this is an
interesting test to people's conviction," Kuby said.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 100.39
points, or 0.90 percent, at 11,043.30. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was down 10.76 points, or 0.91 percent, at
1,173.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 26.46
points, or 1.07 percent, at 2,454.20.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 133.54
points, or 1.20 percent, to 11,010.15. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> fell 14.25 points, or 1.20 percent, to
1,170.46. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 39.85 points,
or 1.61 percent, to 2,440.81.
                                
 Apple's <AAPL.O> shares, which hit a lifetime high on
Monday but were at their most overbought levels since April
according to technical measures, fell more than 2.8 percent to
$309 and tripped up the Nasdaq. [ID:nN18288374]
                                
 International Business Machines Corp <IBM.N> said it won
fewer technology services deals than expected in the third
quarter, sending its shares 3 percent lower to $138.59,
although it announced stronger profits and raised its full-year
outlook. [ID:nN18152165].
                                
 Citigroup Inc <C.N> dropped 1.2 percent to $4.12 after the
U.S. Treasury Department said it launched a sale of 1.5 billion
of its Citi shares under a prearranged trading plan.
                                
 Ray Ozzie, the Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> executive who took
over the role of chief software architect from Bill Gates, is
to step down, following a tenure in which the Windows-maker
lost ground to Google and Apple. [ID:nN18289054].
                                
 Microsoft shares were down 2.8 percent at $25.10.
                                
 U.S. housing starts unexpectedly rose in September to a
five-month high, but permits for future home construction fell,
according to a government report. [ID:nN19115893]
 (Editing by Padraic Cassidy)