Stocks were edging higher Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average trading around a record closing high, as investors mulled a rise in home construction, a mild reading on consumer inflation and a weakening U.S. dollar.Investors were also cautious ahead of a new batch of first-quarter earnings reports, and after a more than 100-point advance in the Dow Jones industrial average Monday.
The Federal Reserve reported Tuesday that industrial output dropped 0.2 percent in March as utility production dropped by 7 percent, offsetting a rise in factory production.
But investors appeared heartened by the Commerce Department’s report that housing starts for March rose 0.8 percent, a feeble rise compared with February’s 7.6 percent advance, but much better than the drop investors had been expecting. Building permits also rose. The stock market has experienced several tumultuous weeks this year due to worries about the financial troubles of the subprime lending sector spilling into the already sluggish housing market.
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