U.S. stocks finished mixed on Tuesday, as housing markets plunged and April industrial production unexpectedly dropped. In world markets, European stocks ended lower, led by the DAX in Germany falling 1.8. Asian markets ended mixed, as the Shanghai Composite gained 0.1 percent and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.3 percent. In U.S. economic news, Construction of new U.S. homes fell drastically in April, the Commerce Department said. The report said construction of new homes fell 10.6 percent in April from March to an annual rate of 523,000 homes. That is down nearly 25 percent from one year ago and less than half the 1.2 million homes per year that economists consider a sign of a healthy market. Meanwhile, U.S. factories in April produced fewer goods for the first time in 10 months as a shortage of parts from Japan forced automakers to reduce output, the government reported. The Federal Reserve (Fed) said factory production fell 0.4 percent in April following nine consecutive monthly increases. --MORE
