Nasdaq hits high as most stocks fall

A subdued day of trading on Wall Street ended Tuesday with stocks closing mostly lower even as the Nasdaq composite index notched another record high.

Utilities, phone companies and other stocks that pay high dividends were among the biggest decliners. Energy stocks fell along with crude oil. Technology firms climbed the most. Financials eked out a small gain.

The Federal Reserve had some positive economic news: Industrial production at U.S. factories, mines and utilities shot up 1% in April from March. That’s the biggest gain since February 2014 and the third straight monthly gain. The increase was more than twice what economists expected.

A separate report on residential construction was less encouraging. The Commerce Department said home construction fell for a second straight month in April, marking the slowest pace in five months. Housing starts slid 2.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 million units. The weakness was led by a big drop in construction of apartments.

The construction report didn’t appear to weigh much on the market. Most home builders closed higher, led by LGI Homes, which rose 3.9% to $33.95.

Traders also watched firms’ quarterly results.

Home Depot rose 0.6% to $158.26 after beating expectations for profit and revenue. The home-improvement retailer also raised its profit outlook for the year.

Online and mobile media services firm Sina jumped 17.8% to $99.04 after its own improved quarterly report.

Several companies that delivered disappointing results fell sharply.

Dick’s Sporting Goods slumped 13.7% to $41.04. Apparel and home fashions retailer TJX slid 4.1% to $73.76. Office supply chain Staples fell 3.5% to $8.99.

Etsy leaped 21.3% to $13.73 after two private equity firms disclosed a combined 8% stake in the online crafts site.

Advanced Micro Devices was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500. The chipmaker surged 11.7% to $12.75.

Oil prices declined Tuesday, giving back some of Monday’s gains.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell 19 cents to $48.66 a barrel. Brent crude fell 17 cents to $51.65 a barrel. Natural gas fell 12 cents, or 3.6%, to $3.23 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil rose 1 cent to $1.52 a gallon. Wholesale gasoline rose 1 cent to $1.60 a gallon.

Gold rose $6.40 to $1,236.40 an ounce. Silver rose 13 cents to $16.69 an ounce. Copper rose 1 cent to $2.55 a pound.

The dollar fell to 113.03 yen from 113.68 yen. The euro rose to $1.1095 from $1.0978.

Bond prices rose. The 10year Treasury yield fell to 2.33%.