U.S. stocks retreat despite upbeat data

U.S. stocks suffered big losses Tuesday, as Wall Street digested a string of economic reports that supported the case for a rate hike later this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 180.73 points, or 1.02 percent, to 17,529.98. The S&P 500 lost 19.45 points, or 0.94 percent, to 2,047.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 59.73 points, or 1.25 percent, to 4,715.73.

The Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers increased 0.4 percent in April on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Labor Department reported Tuesday. Over the past 12 months, the all-items index rose 1.1 percent before seasonal adjustment.

Outside of volatile food and energy, core inflation was up 0.2 percent in April compared to a 0.1 percent March gain, and it increased 2.1 percent over the past 12 months.

U.S. privately-owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,172,000, beating market consensus, the Commerce Department announced Tuesday.

"Prices increased across the board. That left core CPI above 2 percent for six consecutive months. The combination of higher prices and housing gains support the narrative of a Q2 rebound in GDP, and will stir talks of the necessity of at least one Fed hike later this year," said Jay Morelock, an economist at FTN Financial.

Meanwhile, U.S. industrial production also beat expectations, which increased 0.7 percent in April after decreases in the previous two months, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday.

Overseas, European equities ended mixed Tuesday. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange fell 0.63 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index rose 0.27 percent.

In Asia, Chinese stocks declined Tuesday as market sentiment remained dour after heavy losses in the previous week. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index moved down 0.25 percent to 2,843.68 points. Endit