Stocks fell Tuesday as the euro hit a new four-year low versus the U.S. dollar, keeping Europe's problems in focus and overshadowing better-than-expected profits from big U.S. retailers. Stocks managed early gains as investors focused on Wal-Mart Stores' and Home Depot's profits and an improved report on U.S. home construction, but the broader market distress over Europe's debt crisis returned, with technology and banking shares leading stock declines. In U.S. economic news, a housing-market report on the health of the industry was mixed. Housing starts rose a better-than-expected 5.8 percent in April, but building permits—considered a gauge of builder confidence—fell a much bigger-than-expected 11.5 percent. A second government report showed wholesale inflation fell 0.1 percent in April after rising 0.7 percent the previous month. Core prices, which exclude volatile energy and food costs—rose 0.2 percent last month after rising 0.1 percent in March. The U.S. dollar rose versus the euro and fell versus the yen. Light sweet crude oil for June delivery fell 67 cents to $69.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold fell $13.50 to $1,216.80 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 114.88, or 1.1 percent, to 10,510.95. Wal-Mart reported improved profit from a year ago that beat Wall Street estimates, but the world's biggest retailer issued a second-quarter profit forecast that was short of expectations. Its shares gained 3 percent. Home Depot reported a 41 percent jump in quarterly profits, and the home-improvement retailer boosted its full-year profit outlook. Its shares fell 1 percent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 16.14, or 1.4 percent, to 1,120.80. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 36.97, or 1.6 percent, to 2,317.26. Big losers included Intel, Cisco Systems, and Advanced Micro Devices.
