Housing Worries Hit Stocks

Updated from 4:18 p.m. EDT

Stocks in the U.S. finished to the downside Tuesday following a disappointing report on consumer attitudes and more unsettling news from the housing sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 71.78 points, or 0.58%, to 12,397.29, pressured by a 3% loss in DuPont (DD Quote - Cramer on DD - Stock Picks). The S&P 500 slipped 8.89 points, or 0.62%, to 1428.61, and the Nasdaq Composite gave back 18.20 points, or 0.74%, to 2437.43.

About 2.61 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, and volume on the Nasdaq reached 1.72 billion shares. Losers beat winners 2 to 1.

"We had a cumulative effect of multiple bad headlines and fears combining today," said Art Hogan, chief market analyst with Jefferies. "Last week, we were exuberant about the Federal Reserve and housing data, while today the pendulum swung to the other direction."

The major indices were pressured after the latest reading on consumer confidence missed forecasts. The Conference Board said the consumer confidence index for March dropped to 107.2 from 112.5 in February, the first decline in five months. Economists expected a reading of 109.0.

Consumer confidence has been hurt in part by the ongoing housing slowdown, and homebuilder Lennar (LEN Quote - Cramer on LEN - Stock Picks) offered more signs of weakness. The company said its first-quarter orders and earnings slumped year over year, and it backed off the earnings target it had provided in January.

To view Farnoosh Torabi's video take on today's market, click here

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