Stock indexes end lower; Nasdaq reaches new high

Associated Press

A subdued day of trading on Wall Street ended Tuesday with stocks closing mostly lower even as the Nasdaq composite notched another record high.

Utilities, phone companies and other high-dividend paying stocks were among the biggest decliners. Energy stocks also fell along with a drop in the price of crude oil. Technology companies climbed the most. Financials also eked out a small gain.

Investors sized up the latest crop of company earnings and new data on home construction and industrial production.

“The economic data that we’ve seen today is sort of what we’ve seen the last few weeks, some good, some bad,” said Jim Davis, regional investment strategist at the Private Client Group at U.S. Bank.

The stock indexes headed higher early Tuesday, but spent much of the day trading in a narrow range, wavering between small gains and losses.

The Federal Reserve provided some positive economic news, reporting that industrial production at U.S. factories, mines and utilities shot up 1 percent in April from March. That’s the biggest gain since February 2014 and the third- straight monthly gain. The increase was more than twice what economists had expected.

A separate report on residential construction was less encouraging.

The Commerce Department said home construction fell for a second straight month in April, marking the slowest pace in five months. Housing starts slid 2.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 million units. The weakness was led by a big drop in construction of apartments, a volatile sector.

While disappointing, the report didn’t appear to weigh much on the market. Most homebuilders closed higher, led by LGI Homes, which rose $1.26, or 3.9 percent, to $33.95.

Traders also had their eye on the latest crop of quarterly results from companies.