Stocks Ended Mostly Higher

U.S. stocks ended mostly higher on Tuesday, as investors digested a new batch of soft economic numbers. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 23.99 points, or 0.15%, to end at 16,130.40. The S&P 500 gained 2.13 points, or 0.12%, to finish at 1,840.76. The Nasdaq Composite added 28.76 points, or 0.68%, to close at 4,272.78.

A gauge of confidence among home builders plunged in February, dropping to the lowest level in nine months, led by
weaker views on present sales of single-family homes, according to data released Tuesday. The housing-market index
dropped to 46 this month, signaling that builders, generally, are pessimistic about sales trends, according to the
National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo.

Consumer debt in the U.S. rose last quarter by the most in more than six years as Americans borrowed to buy homes and
cars and to pay for education, according to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

General Electric Co is suing the Internal Revenue Service for a $658 million tax refund related to a tax loss the
company claimed as it exited the reinsurance market more than a decade ago.