After a day of small ups and downs, stocks closed with losses Tuesday, ending a three-day rally.

At the close on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 13.4 points, about 0.08 percent, at 17,217.1. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was off nearly 3 points, about 0.1 percent, at 2,0302.8. The Nasdaq dropped 24.5 points, about 0.5 percent, to nearly 4,881.

CRUDE ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude was down at $46.09 a barrel in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

THIS NEW HOUSE: The Commerce Department said housing starts rose 6.5 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.21 million homes. A 17 percent surge in multifamily housing, which includes apartments, accounts for nearly all of the increase.

Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, of Bay Shore, was killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. His mother has made it her mission to aid active-duty service members, veterans, first responders and Gold Star families. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports. Credit: Randee Daddona; Photo credit: Cathy Heighter

'His sacrifice made a difference': Gold Star mother honors son's memory Army Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, 22, of Bay Shore, was the first serviceman from Long Island killed in the Iraq War.

Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, of Bay Shore, was killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. His mother has made it her mission to aid active-duty service members, veterans, first responders and Gold Star families. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports. Credit: Randee Daddona; Photo credit: Cathy Heighter

'His sacrifice made a difference': Gold Star mother honors son's memory Army Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, 22, of Bay Shore, was the first serviceman from Long Island killed in the Iraq War.

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