By Xinhua,
New York: The Wall Street opened lower Tuesday as the record plunge of the housing sector in April overshadowed the better-than-expected earnings of the Home Depot.
The US Commerce Department said the construction of new homes and apartments fell 12.8 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000 units. Economists had expected the construction sector to post a modest increase in April.
The Home Depot Inc. said Tuesday that its fiscal first-quarter profit climbed 44 percent on fewer charges. The country’s largest home improvement retailer beat Wall Street’s expectations despite lower sales.
The Dow Jones fell 15.21 to 8,490.22. Broader indexes also traded lower. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dipped 2.15 to 907.56; and the Nasdaq fell 11.02 to 1,721.34.