Investing.com – U.S. stocks closed roughly flat on Tuesday, as investors mulled over weaker than expected economic data while U.S. political turmoil intensified, after reports surfaced that President Trump shared sensitive information with Russia.
Reports on Tuesday, that President Donald Trump shared sensitive information with Russia at a meeting last week, had little impact on U.S. equities, as the S&P and Dow ended the session roughly flat while the Nasdaq closed in record territory for a second-straight day.
In a series of tweets, President Trump defended his decision to share sensitive information with Russia, insisting that he had “the absolute right” to share “facts” about terrorism with Russia.
Meanwhile, on the economic data front, investors digested mixed economic reports, after housing data fell below expectations while industrial production surged.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday, housing starts dropped 2.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 million units, the lowest level in five months, and below expectations for a 3.7% rise.
In a separate report on Tuesday, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday that U.S. industrial production at factories, mines and utilities rose 1% in April from March, well above expectations for 0.4% increase.
Elsewhere, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday met with chief executives of some of the nation’s largest retailers amid worries of a slowdown in the sector.
Meanwhile, in corporate earnings news, home-improvement retailer, Home Depot, reported first quarter earnings, which beat on both the top and bottom lines.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 20,979.75, down 0.1%. The S&P 500 closed flat while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6169.87, up 0.33%
The ‘Bulls and Bears’ on Wall Street
The top Dow gainers included; Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) up 11.6%, Qorvo Inc (NASDAQ:QRVO) up 4.6%, while Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ:YHOO) rose 2.2%.
Tegna Inc (NYSE:TGNA) down 6.4%, H&R Block Inc (NYSE:HRB) down 6% and DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc (NYSE:DVA) down 6%, were among the worst Dow performers of the session.