U.S. stocks ended a choppy session lower Monday as investors remained focused on oil prices and the debt crisis in Europe.
Trading has been volatile recently as commodities such as oil and silver have fallen sharply from record highs, and investors wait for the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's bond-buying program at the end of June.
Will the real new subprime please stand up? - StockTwitsEconomy: The Commerce Department said housing starts plunged a worse-than-expected 10.6% in April, while the Federal Reserve said industrial production was flat in April due in part to the Japanese earthquake. Economists had forecasted a gain in industrial production for April.
Companies: Dow component Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, Fortune 500) reported quarterly income of $3.4 billion and sales of $103 billion, topping analysts' estimates.
Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500) beat forecasts with earnings per share of 50 cents. But the home improvement retailer posted sales of $16.8 billion, a 0.2% decrease from the year-earlier period.
Earnings from Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) are due after the closing bell. The company is expected to earn 43 cents per share.
World markets: European stocks were mixed in midday trading as investors shrugged off U.K. inflation data. The April consumer price index in the United Kingdom came in much higher than expected at 4.5%.
Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.1%, the DAX in Germany slid 1.1% and France's CAC 40 edged up 0.2%.
Asian markets ended mixed after trading in a narrow range. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.1%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 0.3%and Japan's Nikkei was unchanged.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro and the British pound but rose 1% against the Japanese yen.
Oil for June delivery slipped 64 cents to $96.72 a barrel.
Gold futures for June delivery fell $7.80 to $1,482.80 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury ticked higher, pushing the yield down to 3.13% from 3.15% late Monday.
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