U.S. stocks finished lower Tuesday, for a second day of declines, as the outlook for U.S. economic growth dimmed. In world markets, European stocks ended lower, with the declines led by the CAC 40 in France falling 0.9 percent. Asian markets finished mixed, as the Shanghai Composite rose 0.2 percent and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.8 percent. A recent combination of disappointing economic reports, including weak manufacturing data from the Richmond Federal Reserve (Fed), concerned investors over the outlook for U.S. economic growth. In U.S. economic news, the Richmond Fed said manufacturing activity in the central-Atlantic region continued to contract in July, coming in at minus 17, the lowest level since April 2009. Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency's Housing Price Index for May was up 3.7 percent from a year earlier. In U.S. company news, DuPont and Company reported a 3 percent decline in second-quarter profit as volumes fell in several business units. The company reported second-quarter net profit of $1.18 billion, down from $1.22 billion in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose 7 percent to $11 billion, up from $10.26 billion a year earlier. The U.S. dollar rose against the euro and fell against the yen. Light sweet crude oil for September delivery rose 60 cents to $88.74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures fell $1.20 to $1,576.20 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 104.14, or 0.8 percent, to 12,617.32. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 12.21, or 0.9 percent, to 1,338.31. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 27.16, or 0.9 percent, to 2,862.99.
