U.S. stocks slightly off; Hewlett-Packard hit Be

U.S. stocks slightly off; Hewlett-Packard hit
Best Buy’s shares slump on lackluster earnings
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks edged mildly lower Tuesday, coming off a two-session surge, as an unexpected rise in housing starts offset Hewlett-Packard Co.’s disclosure of accounting improprieties.

“We had a big rally yesterday; that may have been the result of an oversold condition,” said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Robert W. Baird & Co.

“I’m a little concerned about yesterday — we had a lot of optimism all of a sudden based on some discussion that the fiscal cliff could be resolved before year end. And the consensus seems to be that what is going on in the Middle East is not all that troubling, as well.” http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-fa...atest_news