道琼斯指数再创新高

 　　NEW YORK, May 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended narrowly mixed on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average eclipsing previous day's closing record, as April's housing data came out well above market consensus 1.

　　The Dow inched up 13.51 points, or 0.07 percent, to 18,312.39. The S&P 500 edged down 1.37 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,127.83. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 8.40 points, or 0.17 percent, to 5, 070.03.
　　U.S. privately-owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally 2 adjusted annual rate of 1.135 million, the highest level since November 2007, the Commerce Department announced Tuesday. This is 20.2 percent above the revised March estimate and 9.2 percent above the April 2014 rate.
　　Dow extends record run on upbeat data
　　"After a slew 3 of weak Q2 data thus far, and after months of disappointing housing market data, April housing starts and permits suggest that the housing market is finally responding to higher incomes and more jobs," said Sophia Kearney-Lederman, an economic analyst 4 at FTN Financial, in a note.
　　Investor 5 sentiment was also buoyed 6 by the comments from a policymaker of the European Central Bank (ECB). ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said the central bank would slightly increase purchases under its Quantitative 7 Easing (QE) program before an expected period of low liquidity 8 in the summer, according to Reuters.
　　European equities 9 ended sharply higher following the comments, with German benchmark DAX index at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange surging 2.23 percent.
　　In Asia, Chinese Shanghai Composite Index soared 3.13 percent as investor enthusiasm was ignited after China's State Council unveiled Tuesday a "Made in China 2025" national plan to promote more sophisticated manufacturing over the next 10 years.
　　Dragged by tumbling oil prices, the energy sector 10, which is the biggest laggard 11 among the S&P 500's 10 sectors 12, fell 1.23 percent on Tuesday, pulling the broader index into negative territory.
　　In corporate 13 news, Wal-Mart earned an adjusted 1.03 U.S. dollars per share for the first quarter of 2015, missing estimates, with revenue also below expectations. Shares of the retail 14 giant dropped 4.37 percent to 76.43 dollars apiece Tuesday.
　　The CBOE Volatility 15 Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge 16, increased 0.94 percent to end at 12.85 Tuesday.
　　In other markets, the U.S. dollar climbed against other major currencies as economic data from the country came out positive.
　　In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1153 dollars from 1.1303 dollars in the previous session, while the greenback bought 120.71 Japanese yen 17, higher than 120.01 yen of the previous session.
　　Oil prices continued to fall Tuesday as a stronger U.S. dollar weighed on the crude market.
　　Light, sweet crude for June delivery lost 2.17 dollars to settle at 57.26 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for July delivery moved down 2.25 dollars to close at 64.02 dollars a barrel.
　　Gold futures 18 on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange plunged 19 as the dollar rebounded 20, putting pressure on the precious metal.
　　The most active gold contract for June delivery lost 20.9 dollars, or 1.70 percent, to settle at 1,206.70 dollars per ounce.