Nasdaq, S&P climb at Wall Street open as Dow retreats

NEW YORK: Wall Street was off to a mixed start on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 looking to build on gains from the day before even as the Dow lost steam.

About 30 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2 percent at 27,796.87.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.1 percent to 3,386.42 above Monday's near record close, while the tech-rich Nasdaq followed-up on its all-time high finish by gaining 0.4 percent to 11,169.84.

The Nasdaq has notched new records more than 30 times this year, including several in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that has driven millions of people to shift to working from home and boosting demand for products such as video conferencing, video games and movie streaming.

Commerce Department data released before trading opened showed home construction started in July jumped a better-than-expected 22.6 percent from the prior month, showing a sector expanding at a frenzied pace after taking a brief pause as COVID-19 hit.

The vast majority of the increase came in apartment buildings, which exploded by nearly 57 percent, while single family homes started that month rose just 8.2 percent, putting housing starts at a 1.5 million annual rate, seasonally adjusted.

"Housing is certainly one of the bright spots in the struggling economy," said Mike Fratantoni, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, pointing to the continued tight inventory and continued demand for homebuyers.

Walmart was down 0.7 percent even as it reported a jump in second-quarter profits due to surging e-commerce sales and stimulus payments from the US government that propelled consumer spending.