* Financials down after credit card bill
* Big-cap technology stocks rise ahead of HP results
* Housing data weighs on construction sector
* Dow down 0.3 pct; S&P 500 off 0.2 pct; Nasdaq up 0.1 pct
For up-to-the-minute market news click []
(Updates with Hewlett Packard after the bell, adds details,
volume)
By Edward Krudy
NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters) - The Dow and S&P 500 slipped on
Tuesday as financial shares sank and on disappointing housing
data, but the Nasdaq rose as investors snapped up technology
shares ahead of results from Hewlett Packard <HPQ.N>.
After a choppy session, financial shares fell as the U.S.
Senate passed a bill to curb sudden credit card interest rate
increases and hidden fees, a move that analysts said would hurt
the profits of major credit card issuers. For more details see
[].
"Anyway you look at it, it's less favorable for banks,"
said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Morgan in
San Francisco. "It's going to be more restrictive on interest
rate raises," he said.
Shares of American Express <AXP.N> fell 5.1 percent to
$24.79, while Capital One Financial <COF.N>fell 4.5 percent to
$24.90. Shares in JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N> were off 3.9
percent to $36.81.
The Nasdaq was cushioned from the worst of the losses, with
big-tech stocks such as Apple Inc <AAPL.O>, up 0.6 percent to
$127.45, leading gains as investors snapped up shares in the
technology sector ahead of results from Hewlett Packard.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> fell 29.23 points,
or 0.34 percent, at 8,474.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> lost 1.58 points, or 0.17 percent, at 908.13. The Nasdaq
Composite Index <> added 2.18 points, or 0.13 percent, at
1,734.54.
Hewlett Packard, the world's top personal computer maker,
gave a more pessimistic revenue forecast for the fiscal year as
it reported in-line results, sending its shares lower. For
details, see [].
HP fell 3.9 percent to $35.14 in extended trade after
rising more than 2 percent during the regular session when it
was among the top boosts to the Dow industrials.
Also weighing on sentiment, U.S. housing starts and permits
fell unexpectedly to record lows in April, hitting shares in
some residential construction companies such as Centex Corp
<CTX.N>, down 2.9 percent to $9.56, while the Dow Jones home
construction index lost 0.8 percent.
Home Depot <HD.N> posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly
profit, but its shares fell 5.3 percent to $24.63, putting the
stock among the Dow's top drags, as the No. 1 U.S. home
improvement retailer said its markets remain under pressure.
On Tuesday, the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility
index <.VIX>, known as Wall Street's "fear gauge," fell below
30 for the first time in eight months, extending a pullback
from the bear market lows of early March. [].
The S&P 500 has climbed from a 12-year closing low in early
March, rising 37.4 percent through May 8. But the benchmark
index gave up some ground last week and is now up 29.8 percent
since March 9.
Trading was moderate on the New York Stock Exchange, with
about 1.35 billion shares changing hands, below last year's
estimated daily average of 1.49 billion, while on Nasdaq, about
2.13 billion shares traded, below last year's daily average of
2.28 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by
1,806 to 1,219 while advancers beat decliners on the Nasdaq by
about 1,348 to 1,315.
(Editing by Leslie Adler)
