Stocks slipped on Tuesday after disappointing results from Dow component Procter & Gamble and some discouraging economic data, but robust earnings from drug giant Pfizer limited the market's decline.

Procter & Gamble Co

was the Dow's top drag after its fourth-quarter profit missed expectations.

In contrast, Pfizer Inc

, the world's largest drugmaker, posted a better-than-expected profit and provided the biggest support to the Dow.

Shares of consumer products company P&G sank 3.7 percent to $59.78, while shares of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer rose 5.5 percent to $16.33.

The S&P Consumer Discretionary Sector <.GSPD> fell 1.4 percent after data showed consumer spending and incomes were unexpectedly flat in June, while personal savings rose to the highest level in a year.

This shows that spending is slowing down and its making us back off the retail space, said Tom Nyheim, portfolio manager at Christiana Bank & Trust Co in Greenville, Delaware.

It doesn't mean that we're going to slide into a double-dip, but it does mean we should expect growth to be slower than previously thought, he said.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 28.08 points, or 0.26 percent, at 10,646.30. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 4.56 points, or 0.41 percent, at 1,121.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 9.09 points, or 0.40 percent, at 2,286.27.

Analysts said the market was ripe for consolidation after Monday's 2 percent gain that built on a nearly 7 percent jump for July -- the best month in a year.

The S&P 500 held above its 200-day moving average of around 1,114, a potentially positive signal. But it was struggling to maintain its grip on the 1,121 mark, the midpoint between the historic high reached in October 2007 and the 12-year closing low hit in March 2009.

On the economic front, data showed U.S. factory orders fell steeply in June while an index of pending home sales plunged to a record low in the same month.

Elsewhere in the earnings space, Dow Chemical Co slid 9.6 percent to $25.60 after it reported a weaker-than-expected second-quarter profit.

But the stock of U.S. agricultural company Archer Daniels Midland Co shot up 1.8 percent to $28.80 after its stronger-than-expected quarterly profit.

U.S.-listed shares of Research in Motion slipped 0.5 percent to $56.72 after the Canadian company unveiled a new BlackBerry smart phone product in an effort to counter Apple Inc's popular iPhone product.

In sync with Pfizer's strong quarterly profit and revenue, the healthcare sector advanced. The S&P healthcare sector index <.GSPA> rose 1 percent, while the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor Index <.HMO> climbed 2.1 percent.

(Editing by Jan Paschal)

Apple inc. Pfizer