U.S. stocks closed mixed on Thursday, as weakness in the technology sector countered stronger-than-expected reports on the housing market and unemployment. In world markets, European stocks ended lower, with the FTSE 100 in Britain leading the declines by falling 0.7 percent. Asian markets also ended lower, as all three major indexes fell more than 1.5 percent. In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department said housing starts rose 3.5 percent last month to an annual rate of 560,000 units, regaining nearly half of April's steep decline. Compared to May of last year, housing starts were down 3.4 percent, and economists say the pace of construction is far below the 1.2 million new homes that must be built annually to sustain a healthy housing market. Meanwhile, new housing permits—a gauge of future construction activity—unexpectedly rebounded 8.7 percent to a 612,000-unit annual pace in May, the highest since December. --More
