US STOCKS-S&P 500 flat after mixed retail earnings

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* Walmart rises on strong Q1 results
* Advance Auto Parts gains on same-store sales potential
* Home Depot drops after results miss estimates
* U.S. housing starts post record decline
* Indexes mixed: Dow up 0.25%, S&P flat, Nasdaq up 0.55%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh and Ambar Warrick
May 19 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 was largely unchanged on
Tuesday, after a strong rally in the prior session, as investors
sifted through a mixed batch of results from major retailers
including Walmart and Home Depot.
Home improvement chain Home Depot HD.N fell 2.4% as it
missed quarterly profit estimates due to higher costs, while
department store operator Kohl's Corp KSS.N slumped 7.8% after
reporting a bigger-than-expected loss. Walmart Inc WMT.N , on the other hand, rose 0.8% after the
world's largest grocer exceeded expectations for quarterly
revenue and earnings as online sales soared due to stockpiling
of essentials during the coronavirus-led lockdown. The S&P 500 retailing index .SPXRT was up 0.7%.
Trillions of dollars in stimulus has helped the S&P 500
rebound more than 34% from its March lows. Although it is now
just about 13% below its record high, the pace of the rally has
slowed in May owing to uncertainty over the outbreak and rising
U.S.-China tensions.
"Volatility is going to be with us for some time. There's a
leveling off process where people accept the new normal, or they
just abandon hope," said George Young, portfolio manager of the
Villere Balanced Fund in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The benchmark index climbed more than 3% on Monday, boosted
by promising early stage data for a potential COVID-19 vaccine
and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's pledge to support the
economy as needed until the current crisis has passed.
Powell, in his testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on
Tuesday, said the central bank was continuing to consider ways
to accommodate additional borrowers, and that Congress should
consider anything to keep people out of insolvency.
"By far the biggest focus for markets are variables attached
to medical news, (followed by) actions from central banks and
fiscal policymakers," said Tim Shaler, chief economist for
iTrustCapital in Newport Beach, California.
At 12:26 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 60.41 points, or 0.25%, at 24,536.96, the S&P 500
.SPX was up 1.69 points, or 0.06%, at 2,955.60. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 50.49 points, or 0.55%, at 9,285.32.
Gains in technology focused companies, including Amazon.com
AMZN.O , Apple Inc AAPL.O and Intel Corp INTC.O , were some
of the biggest boosts to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.
Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were trading lower, led by
real estate .SPLRCR and energy stocks .SPNY . Technology
.SPLRCT and consumer discretionary .SPLRCD posted the
biggest percentage gains.
Advance Auto Parts AAP.N climbed 5.8% after the company
said same-store sales improved significantly at the start of the
second quarter. The S&P 1500 airlines index .SPCOMAIR advanced 2.5% as two
top U.S. airlines and Air Canada AC.TO said ticket
cancellations were slowing and demand was showing signs of
improvement since the coronavirus pandemic brought global travel
to a virtual standstill last month. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.23-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.05-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 10 new 52-week highs and no new lows,
while the Nasdaq recorded 50 new highs and six new lows.