Stocks close mixed as investors eye Irish debt crisis

Stocks finished mixed in choppy trading, after four days of losses, as investors become worried that Ireland will likely receive a huge bailout to clean up its banking system and repay its debt. Also, the construction of new homes dropped 11.7 percent in, while construction of new apartments plunged by more than 40 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 15.62 points, or 0.14 percent, to 11,007.88. The S&P 500 index edged up 0.25 of a point, or 0.02 percent, to 1,178.59. The Nasdaq composite index gained 6.17 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,476.01

Retail stocks were one of the few bright spots, following the lead of Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) which soared 3.88 percent after posting better-than-expected earnings.

Homebuilders dropped after today’s construction data.

Bond prices finished flat.

Oil futures plunged 2.4 percent and gold edged down.

The dollar slipped percent against a basket of six foreign currencies.

European/UK stocks rose modestly.