Stocks Ended Mixed after Mixed Economic Data

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow closed flat while the Nasdaq hit another record high, after a mixed set of economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.19 points, or 0.01% to 20,979.75. The S&P 500 lost 1.65 points, or 0.07%, to 2,400.67. The Nasdaq Composite added 20.20 points, or 0.33%, to 6,169.87.

Oil finished slightly lower Tuesday, as a report from the International Energy Agency warned that an extension to the OPEC-led production cut agreement won’t be enough to rebalance the global crude market. June West Texas Intermediate crude slid 19 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $48.66 a barrel. July Brent crude dipped 17 cents, or 0.3%, to $51.65 a barrel.

Industrial production in April grew at the fastest monthly rate in more than three years, on the back of broad-based gains in the manufacturing sector. The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that industrial production grew 1% in April.

U.S. homebuilding unexpectedly fell in April to the lowest level in five months amid persistent weakness in the construction of multi-family housing units, suggesting a slowdown in the housing market recovery. Housing starts dropped 2.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 million units also as single-family homebuilding rebounded modestly, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday.

Yahoo Inc said on Tuesday it would buy back up to $3 billion shares through a tender offer to provide liquidity to stockholders looking to sell the stock ahead of the company’s pending deal with Verizon Communications Inc.