Wall Street is narrowly mixed in early trading
NEW YORK -- Stocks are narrowly mixed in early trading after the government issued better-than-expected reports on the housing market and inflation.
The Commerce Department says new home construction rose unexpectedly, jumping 22 percent to an annual rate of 583,000 in February. Building permit applications rose 3 percent to 547,000.
The Labor Department says its producer price index, which measures inflation at the wholesale level, rose a less-than-expected 0.1 percent in February.
The Dow Jones industrial average is down 28 at 7,188. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down 2 at 751, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index is up 5 at 1,408.
