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Stocks Rise Modestly; Mobileye Crashes On Tesla News

Stock opened little changed Tuesday, ahead of a busy session of earnings and economic reports. (M.ASTAR/SIPA/Newscom)

Stocks rose modestly in early trading Tuesday, as techs led.

The Dow industrials rose 0.1% while the  S&P 500 climbed 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite added 0.4%.

FOMC Meeting, Home Prices, New-Home Sales

The Federal Open Market Committee launches its two-day meeting in Washington D.C., which wraps up with a policy announcement scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Home prices rose at a slightly slower pace in May, sending S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index up 5.2% vs. April's 5.4% increase. Analysts had projected an acceleration to 5.6%.

At 10 a.m., June new-home sales figures are expected from the Commerce Department, while the Conference Board plans to release its July Consumer Confidence Index.

Earnings: Cat, Apple, Las Vegas Sands

Caterpillar (CAT), McDonald's (MCD) and Verizon (VZ) were among the big names to report results early Tuesday. Apple (AAPL), Panera Bread (PNRA) and U.S. Steel (X) are a few names due to report in a busy after-hours session.

McDonald's dropped 3% at the open after its second-quarter earnings bested analyst estimates, but revenue just missed and same-store-sales were far short of consensus views. McDonald's is in the 12th week of a cup base -- which eventually could lead to a breakout of the stock -- started after shares notched a record high in May.

Texas Instruments (TXN) bolted 7% after a strong second-quarter beat.

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) rose 4% at the open.  The casino owner reported its first year-over-year revenue gain for Sands China in two years, buoying speculation that the Chinese gambling hub of Macau may be showing signs of revival and overshadowing otherwise weak second-quarter results.

Israel-based Mobileye (MBLY) opened down 10% and is currently off 8.5%. The maker of camera-based autopilot technologies for cars rose briefly in premarket trading after reporting strong second-quarter results. But Mobileye Chief Technology Officer Amnon Shashua said during the company's quarterly conference call with analysts that Mobileye's relationship with Tesla Motors (TSLA) would not go further than the EyeQ3 processor currently used in Tesla models. Mobileye ended Monday's session more than 100% above a February low, as it climbs the right side of a deep 11-month correction.

Tesla shares fell about 1%.

Cabinet and plumbing products maker Masco (MAS) climbed 4% after a second-quarter report in which earnings beat expectations, and revenue met views. Management inched up Masco's dividend, and said "the fundamental demand drivers of our end markets remain robust." Masco is now extended from a 33.02 purchase point.

Aerospace leaders United Technologies (UTX) climbed 2% and B/E Aerospace (BEAV) was up 7% after solid Q2 reports.

Oil, Dollar, International Markets

Oil futures slipped 1%, sending West Texas Intermediate below $44 a barrel. Gold inched up above $1,321 an ounce. The dollar lost ground, and the 10-year Treasury yield slipped 2 basis points to 1.56%.

Overseas, China's markets saw gains, while in Japan, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 dropped 1.4% as the yen rose sharply ahead of the Bank of Japan's two-day meeting set for Thursday and Friday.

Europe's major markets were higher in afternoon trade.