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U.S. stocks open mixed on housing data, ECB comment

Xinhua, May 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened mixed on Tuesday, as investors kept an eye on April' s housing data and European Central Bank's comment.

Privately-owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.135 million, beating market forecast, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Tuesday. This is 20.2 percent above the revised March estimate and is 9.2 percent above the April 2014 rate.

European equities were sharply higher in the morning trading on Tuesday, as investors focused on comments by a policymaker of the European Central Bank (ECB).

ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure declared that the central bank would increase purchase under its Quantitative Easing (QE) program before an expected period of low liquidity in the summer.

In corporate news, retail giant Wal-Mart earned an adjusted 1.03 U.S. dollars per share for the first quarter, below estimates, with revenue also below expectations. Shares of the company dropped over three percent in the early trading.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 13.78 points, or 0.08 percent, to 18,285.10. The S&P 500 ticked down 0.46 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,128.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 5.74 points, or 0.11 percent, to 5,084.18.

U.S. stocks rallied on Monday with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 refreshing record highs, as investors bet that the Federal Reserve would delay interest rate increases due to recent weak economic data. Endi