U.S. stocks fell slightly on Tuesday, after the release of several weak economic reports. In world economic news, European stocks closed mostly lower, while Asian markets were mixed. In U.S. economic news, U.S. consumer confidence weakened unexpectedly in February. The Conference Board said its consumer-confidence index fell to 78.1 this month from 79.4 in January. Meanwhile, U.S. home prices fell for the second consecutive month in December. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home-price index fell 0.1 percent in December, matching the previous month's decline. The dollar rose versus the Pound and the Euro, but fell versus the Yen. Light sweet crude oil for March delivery rose to $102.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures fell to $1,341.30 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 27.48, or 0.2 percent, to 16,179.66. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.49, or 0.1 percent, to 1,845.12. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 5.38, or 0.1 percent, to 4,287.59.
