U.S. stocks ended lower after wavering in a tight range Tuesday, as investors pondered over a sharp sell-off in Chinese stock market amid upbeat U.S. housing data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 33.84 points, or 0. 19 percent, to 17,511.34. The S&P 500 declined 5.52 points, or 0. 26 percent, to 2,096.92. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 32.35 points, or 0.64 percent, to 5,059.35.
Chinese shares nosedived on Tuesday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropping 6.15 percent to close at 3,748.16 points.
The market has showed signs of recovery in the past few days with the Shanghai Index reaching more than 4,000 points before falling back to just above 3,700 Tuesday afternoon.
Despite government's reassurance about continued stabilization of the market, concerns remain that authorities could pull rescue funds.
European stocks finished mildly lower following the Chinese stock slump on Tuesday, with British benchmark FTSE 100 Index declining 0.37 percent.
On the economic front, U.S. housing starts came in much better than expected. Privately-owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,206,000, the highest rate since October 2007, said the Commerce Department Tuesday.
The figure is 0.2 percent above the revised June estimate of 1, 204, 000 and 10.1 percent above the July 2014 rate of 1,095,000.
"The housing market looks poised to remain on solid footing heading into the second half of 2015, ahead of the Fed's possible interest rate increase that could come by year end," said Sophia Kearney-Lederman, an economic analyst at FTN Financial, in a note.
As there is no Federal Reserve's policy meeting in August, Wall Street is keeping a close eye on the Fed minutes from July meeting scheduled for release on Wednesday, which was expected to give more clues on the timing of an interest rate hike.
In corporate news, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. dipped 3.38 percent to 69.48 dollars apiece on Tuesday after it posted weaker-than- expected quarterly earnings and lowered its annual forecast.
The U.S. retail giant reported net profit of 3.48 billion dollars, or 1.08 dollars per share, in the second quarter ended July 31, compared to 3.92 billion dollars, or 1.21 dollars per share, a year earlier.
The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, rose 5.91 percent to end at 13.79 Tuesday.
In other markets, oil prices bounced Tuesday as traders expected to see a further reduction in U.S. crude supplies in Wednesday's government report.
The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate for September delivery, moved up 75 cents to settle at 42.62 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The global benchmark, Brent crude for October delivery, increased 7 cents to close at 48.81 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Future Exchange.
The U.S. dollar traded mixed against other major currencies on Tuesday amid the country's strong economic data.
In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1024 dollars from 1.1080 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 124.39 Japanese yen, lower than 124.43 yen of the previous session.
Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Tuesday as upbeat U.S. data further buoyed speculation that the Fed is moving toward the rate hike.
The most active gold contract for December delivery edged down 1.5 dollars, or 0.13 percent, to settle at 1,116.90 dollars per ounce.
