US stock indexes end mostly lower; Nasdaq hits new high

A subdued day of trading on Wall Street ended Tuesday with stocks closing mostly lower even as the Nasdaq composite notched another record high.

Utilities, phone companies and other high-dividend paying stocks were among the biggest decliners. Energy stocks also fell along with a drop in the price of crude oil. Technology companies climbed the most. Financials also eked out a small gain.

Investors sized up the latest crop of company earnings and new data on home construction and industrial production.

"The economic data that we've seen today is sort of what we've seen the last few weeks, some good, some bad," said Jim Davis, regional investment strategist at the Private Client Group at U.S. Bank.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index dipped 1.65 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,400.67. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 2.19 points, or 0.01 percent, to 20,979.75. The Nasdaq gained 20.20 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,169.87. The tech-heavy index and the S&P 500 each hit new highs on Monday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks rose 0.76 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,394.68. More stocks fell than rose on the on the New York Stock Exchange.

The stock indexes headed higher early Tuesday, but spent much of the day trading in a narrow range, wavering between small gains and losses.

The Federal Reserve provided some positive economic news, reporting industrial production at U.S. factories, mines and utilities shot up 1 percent in April from March. That's the biggest gain since February 2014 and the third straight monthly gain. 

The increase was more than twice what economists had expected.