US stocks mixed after disappointing housing data

NEW YORK: US stocks Wednesday were mixed in early trade after data showed an unexpectedly big decline in new home construction and building permits in January.
About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 47.01 (0.29 percent) to 16,177.41.
The broad-based S&P 500 edged 0.98 (0.05 per cent) higher to 1,841.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 11.14 (0.26 per cent) at 4,261.65.
Housing starts sank 16.0 per cent from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 880,000, well below analyst forecasts of 963,000.Building permits dropped 5.4 per cent to 937,000, below the 980,000 forecast.
Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10year US Treasury edged higher to 2.69 per cent from 2.68 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year held steady at 3.67 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.