U.S. Stocks Open Lower On Housing, Inflation Concerns

New York, NY (AHN) - Markets in New York opened lower following twin government reports showing an 17-year record slump in housing starts coupled with high-than-expected inflation. Both markets and commodities fell, extending Monday's closing drop.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average at 9:55 Eastern stands down 98 points at 11,381. The Dow lost 93 points in pre-open trading. The big board is still down from the 180-point loss after Monday's close.

Before markets opened Tuesday, the Commerce Department said new housing starts in July were down 11 percent to 965,000 -- a figure not seen in 17 years. The estimate is another sign confidence in the economy has not returned.

In a second government report, the Labor Department said producer prices rose an unexpected 1.2 percent in July, far higher than the 0.3 percent analysts were predicting.

Elsewhere in the markets, the broader Standard and Poor's 500 was down 10 points to 1,268, recovering somewhat from being down 10 points in pre-open trading. The index closed 19 points lower Monday.

In a reflection of the soft home construction market, home improvement retailer Home Depot said its second-quarter net profits fell 24 percent.

Despite back-to-school shopping just weeks away, Staples said warned of slumping second-quarter profits.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 18 points at 2,398. After Tuesday's close, printer giant Hewlett Packard and chipmaker Analog Devices will report quarterly results. In commodities, crude oil is off 90 cents to $112.87 a barrel.

Gold was also down, falling $10.90 to $794.80 an ounce.