Handful of weak earnings stall the stock market

NEW YORK (AP) -- Weak earnings reports from a handful of U.S. companies are tugging stock indexes slightly lower.

Tenet Healthcare plunged after the hospital operator said its third-quarter profit fell as its absorbed costs associated with its acquisition of Vanguard Health Systems. Delphi Automotive dropped after the company cut its earnings forecast.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell five points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 1,762 Tuesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 20 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,618 points. The Nasdaq composite edged up three points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 3,939.

The market is still close to record levels after a surge that has put the S&P 500 on track for its best performance since 2009. The index is up 23 percent this year.