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Wall Street opened mostly unchanged on Tuesday as enthusiasm for a better-than-expected report on home prices was tempered by apprehension ahead of a key report on consumer confidence.

Today’s Markets

As of 9:33 a.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.89 points, or 0.02%, to 9788.00, the S&P 500 rose 0.78 points, or 0.07%, to 1063.90 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.10 points, or 0.01%, to 2131.24. The consumer-friendly FOX 50 added 0.21 points, or 0.03%, to 776.74.

The bulls struggled to extend Monday’s 124-point rally for the Dow, which was the strongest gain for the blue-chip index since late August and was fueled by a flurry of M&A action.

In stark contrast to the bleak predictions for the historically-weak month of September, the markets have seen very little resistance for much of this month amid continued economic optimism. In fact, the Dow is trading just 200 points away from the pivotal 10000 level and the broader S&P 500 is up almost 20% year-to-date. 

Hopes for a strong economic recovery were further boosted on Tuesday as the S&P/Case-Shiller said 18 out of 20 U.S. regions saw home price improvements in July.

The group’s 20-city index rose 1.7% from June, more than tripling Wall Street’s expectation for a 0.5% increase. Still, prices are off 13.3% from a year ago as annual prices fell for the 16th consecutive month.  The report helped lift shares of home builders like Lennar (LEN: 14.94, 0.29, 1.98%) and Pulte (PHM: 11.31, 0.0099, 0.09%).

The markets are likely to be moved later in the morning by the Conference Board’s consumer confidence figures, which are set to be released at 10 a.m. EDT. Economists expect confidence improved further in September to a reading of 57. The markets pay close attention to confidence figures as consumer spending accounts for nearly 70% of the U.S. economy. 

In the commodity complex, crude oil inched lower after two days of gains. Crude was recently down 40 cents a barrel, or 0.58%, to $66.44. Gold fell $2.50 an ounce, or 0.25%, to $991.60.

Corporate Movers

Walgreen (WAG: 37.875, 3.705, 10.84%) weighed in a better-than-expected profit of 44 cents per share. The largest U.S. drugstore chain said revenue rose 7.6% to $15.7 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations. Same-store sales rose 2.4% during the quarter.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM: 44.61, -0.16, -0.36%) tapped Jes Staley to take over as CEO of its investment bank and heir apparent to CEO Jamie Dimon. The bank said Bill Winters, the current co-CEO of the investment bank with Staley, will leave the company after 18 years for undisclosed reasons.  

Starbucks (SBUX: 20.41, -0.21, -1.02%) launched an instant brew on Tuesday as the upscale coffee giant looks to take a slice of the $21 billion global instant-coffee market. Twenty years in the making, Starbucks Via will be available at all U.S. locations and eventually in supermarkets. The company is introducing a taste challenge this weekend to invite customers to try to tell the difference between the new brew and its freshly-brewed counterpart.

Gannett (GCI: 11.59, 1.53, 15.21%) saw its shares climb more than 6% before the bell after the newspaper publisher said it sees third-quarter non-GAAP EPS of 39 cents to 42 cents, well above the Street’s view of 29 cents. The owner of USA Today also announced a pair of senior note offerings worth $400 million aimed at paying down debt.

CIT Group (CIT: 1.798, 0.148, 8.97%) would merge with IndyMac Federal Bank under a plan floated by CIT debtholder John Paulson, who made billions by betting against subprime mortgages in 2007, the New York Post reported. Paulson and his hedge-fund firm, Paulson & Co., were part of a group that bought IndyMac from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. earlier this year after the bank collapsed.

Global Markets

European stocks were stuck in reverse as the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.23% to 5153.79, France's CAC 40 fell 0.21% to 3816.87 and Germany's DAX sank 0.34% to 5716.72. 

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.91% to 10100.20, Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.06% to 20013.17 and China's Shanghai Composite lost 0.33% to 2754.54.