Wall St falls on housing, corporate outlooks

U.S. stocks dropped on Tuesday after a housing index fell to a record low and semiconductor companies Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Novellus Systems Inc gave gloomy outlooks.

A report by the National Association of Realtors showed pending home sales in February sunk to the lowest on record. The Dow Jones home construction index .DJUSHB fell 3.1 percent as shares of homebuilders such as D.R. Horton Inc slid.

AMD, the second largest maker of computer processors, said after Monday's close that it would cut 10 percent of its work force, or about 1,680 jobs, and gave a first-quarter revenue estimate below expectations. Its stock was down more than 5 percent.

Shares of Novellus fell more than 8 percent after the semiconductor equipment maker said its first-quarter earnings would be lower than expected and revenue would be at the low end of its forecast range.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 24.35 points, or 0.19 percent, to 12,588.08. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX lost 3.46 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,369.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC shed 8.48 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,356.35.

(Agencies)