The Dow and the S&P 500 rose on Tuesday after strong earnings from big manufacturers and AT&T, but the Nasdaq fell with Apple and other large-cap tech companies.

Apple Inc, due to report results after the close, was the biggest drag on the Nasdaq. The stock was down 1.7 percent at $562.23 in volatile trading.

The stock of the world's most valuable company has fallen in recent weeks after its huge run higher. Apple's stock was last up 39 percent for the year - in contrast with a gain of nearly 60 percent for the year so far earlier this month.

Helping the Dow were shares of AT&T Inc, 3M Co and United Technologies Corp, which advanced after they reported profits that topped estimates, extending the trend of this earnings season's stronger-than-expected results.

With results in from 153 S&P 500 companies, more than three-fourths have topped analyst estimates, according to Thomson Reuters Proprietary Research.

U.S. corporate earnings are actually coming in pretty strong, said Natalie Trunow, chief investment officer of equities at Calvert Investment Management in Bethesda, Maryland, whose firm manages about $13 billion in assets.

Negatives are being paid attention to more at the moment than the positives, but the positive earnings reports are providing some support here.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 72.80 points, or 0.56 percent, at 12,999.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 3.99 points, or 0.29 percent, at 1,370.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 13.52 points, or 0.46 percent, at 2,956.93.

Adding to weakness in tech, Netflix Inc shares sank 14.4 percent to $87.22, a day after it forecast slower subscriber growth this quarter.

Texas Instruments Inc forecast second-quarter revenue growth above estimates, signaling the end of a prolonged inventory-related decline in demand, but the results weren't enough to counter the broader weakness in tech. Its stock slid 1.4 percent to $31.43.

Many analysts have cautioned that a market correction is near, given the market's recent run higher. But the S&P 500 should hold near-term support at 1,340 in he current pullback before rallying again, according to Brown Brothers Harriman analysts. The index held at 1,340 during a pullback in early March, which coincides with a 23.6 percent retracement of the rally from October.

AT&T advanced 4.1 percent to $31.84, while 3M gained 1.7 percent to $88.60 and United Tech rose 0.3 percent to $79.96.

Economic data took a backseat to earnings news.

U.S. single-family home prices rose for the first time in 10 months in an encouraging sign the battered sector was starting to stabilize, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller report.

Separately, the government said single-family home sales sagged to their lowest level in four months, but sales in the previous three months were revised higher than initially thought. Also, U.S. consumer confidence edged slightly lower in April, according to a report from the Conference Board, a private research group.

(Editing by Jan Paschal)

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