* Apple to report after the close, shares lower

* AT&T, 3M and United Tech all climb after results

* Consumer confidence lower, home prices rise

* Dow up 0.6 pct, S&P up 0.3 pct, Nasdaq off 0.3 pct

By Ryan Vlastelica

NEW YORK, April 24 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday after strong earnings from big manufacturers and AT&T, but the Nasdaq declined on weakness from large-cap tech companies.

The results continued the season's strong performance. With 153 S&P 500 components reporting, more than three-fourths have topped expectations, according to Thomson Reuters Proprietary Research.

AT&T Inc, 3M Co and United Technologies Corp , all Dow components, advanced after profits topped estimates, extending the trend of this season's robust results.

"These results serve as a reminder that while near-term volatility is all but certain, the strength of corporate America remains intact, and valuations remain attractive," said Mark Martiak, senior wealth strategist at Premier/First Allied Securities in New York.

AT&T advanced 3.8 percent to $31.77, while 3M gained 2 percent to $88.84 and United Tech rose 0.5 percent to $80.11.

Apple Inc fell 2.3 percent to $558.83 and weighed on the Nasdaq ahead of earnings after the market closes.

Results from Apple, the world's most valuable company, will be dissected after a stock swoon raised concerns that its rally this year of 40 percent was over.

Netflix Inc also reined in the Nasdaq, tumbling 13.3 to $88.32 a day after it forecast slower subscriber growth this quarter.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 80.90 points, or 0.63 percent, at 13,008.15. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 4.36 points, or 0.32 percent, at 1,371.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 9.29 points, or 0.31 percent, at 2,961.16.

The S&P 500 should hold near-term support at 1,340 during the 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.

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.

U.S. consumer confidence edged slightly lower in April, according to a report from the Conference Board, a private research group.

Equities barely moved after the reports were released.

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 1.6 percent to $31.37.