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U.S. stocks retreat amid mixed economic data

Xinhua, April 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks pulled back in the morning session Tuesday, reversing part of the last two-session's big rally, as economic data came out mixed.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 115.97 points, or 0.65 percent, to 17,860.34. The S&P 500 shed 10.49 points, or 0. 50 percent, to 2,075.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 27.17 points, or 0.55 percent, to 4,920.28.

U.S. Consumer Confidence Index rose from February's reading of 98.8 to 101.3 in March, well above market consensus of 95.5, reported the Conference Board Tuesday.

"Consumer confidence improved in March after retreating in February. This month's increase was driven by an improved short- term outlook for both employment and income prospects; consumers were less upbeat about business conditions," said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, in a statement.

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Business Barometer inched up in March after a sharp decline in the previous month, but was still below the 50 mark, marking contraction for the second month in a row. The figure hit 46.3 this month, slightly above February's 45.8.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, a leading measure of U. S. home prices, showed that the 10-City Composite gained 4.4 percent year-over-year, up from 4.3 percent in December, and the 20-City Composite added 4.6 percent year-over-year, compared to a 4.4 percent increase in December.

Both the 10 and 20-City Composites reported virtually flat month-over-month changes, while the national index was down 0.1 percent in January, the fifth consecutive month of decline.

Wall Street rose sharply Monday, boosted by upbeat economic data and optimistic sentiment from overseas stock markets, with all the three major indices surging more than 1 percent. Endite