Dow Pulls Back From Record High

A surprisingly strong report on housing construction failed to jog financial markets Tuesday as stocks edged lower in unusually calm trading as investors took profits on Monday’s record-setting advance.

The Dow Jones industrial average, which cracked the 5,700-mark for the first time early in the session, gave up those gains and finished with a loss of 14.09 points at 5,669.51. On Monday, the barometer of 30 big-name companies soared nearly 100 points to a record close at 5,683.60.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a slim margin on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume totaled 438.33 million shares as of 4 p.m., slightly higher than the previous session’s total.

The government reported before the start of trading that construction of new homes and apartments rose 3 percent in February to the highest level in 14 months.

The unexpected increase added to doubts that the economy has been weak enough to justify new interest rate cuts when the Federal Reserve meets later this month.

Some of the stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Tuesday:

NYSE

UAL, up 8-7/8 at 213-1/8.

The parent company of United Airlines said it expects its firstquarter net income to exceed analyst estimates thanks to higher than expected air fares and traffic. UAL said it would earn more than $2.05 per share - the highest estimate issued by analysts to First Call, which reported a mean forecast of $1.58.

Philip Morris, down 4-7/8 at 86-3/8.

RJR Nabisco, down 1-3/8 at 29-3/4.

Stock in the two cigarette makers slid again amid allegations by three former Philip Morris employees that the world’s largest tobacco company strictly controlled nicotine in its cigarettes, contradicting its testimony to Congress.

Federal Express, up 5/8 at 71-3/8.

The shipping company announced Monday a tentative agreement on a contract with its 3,000 pilots. The five-year contract must be approved by union members.

NASDAQ

Cirrus Logic, down 1-1/8 at 18-5/8.

The chip maker said it expects a substantial operating loss in the quarter ending this month and that it plans to cut about 455 jobs.

AMEX

Digicon, up 1-3/8 at 10-1/8.

The provider of seismic-data services to the oil industry adopted a “poison pill” defense against unsolicited takeovers, which could suggest a buyout offer is imminent. Digicon also canceled a public stock sale of 3.7 million shares.