Stocks Experience a Second Day of Losses

The selloff continues. 

A day after a broad downturn knocked about 2% off the major indexes, stocks took another step back Tuesday, as traders mulled over new data on the housing market and inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 107 points to 8504, the Nasdaq slipped 20 to 1796, and the S&P 500 gave up 11 at 911.

Traders appeared to frown on mixed economic data. The Commerce Department said construction of new homes and apartments jumped 17.2% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 532,000--the largest jump in three months, according to the Associated Press. That number was slightly better than what experts were predicting. The agency also said building permits rose 4% in May to an annual rate of 518,000. 

The Labor Deparrtment said a May reading of the Producer Price Index, a measure of inflation, increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% from April. Economists were predicting a 0.6% bump in the PPI. High gas prices were offset by cheaper food costs. On a year-over-year basis, wholesale prices have fallen the most since 1949, according to Marketwatch.

Industrial production decreased 1.1% in May, according to the Federal Reserve, due to weak auto, mining and technology sector performance. Economists expected a dip of 1.0% for May. Capacity utilization came in at 68.3% in May, a record low according to Marketwatch. 

At an International gathering in his home country, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for new global currency reserves to complement the dollar, according to the Associated Press. That call helped sink the dollar a bit after it rose against foreign currencies on Monday. 

Another decline in commodities did little for trader sentiment. Oil traded down 12 cents at $70.50 a barrel.

Another commodity of note: gasoline, which will aim for its 49th straight session of gains, even with the airline and auto industries reeling from declines in demand.

The auto industry did a bit of reshuffling Thursday when General Motors agreed to sell its Saab unit to Swedish firm Koenigsegg.

World markets were mixed. Asia reacted to Monday's selloff: Japan's Nikkei lost 2.9%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.8%. In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE edged up 0.1%.