Stocks mixed after weak factory, housing reports
By DANIEL WAGNER, Associated Press
Feb 28, 2012 8:43 AM CST
In this Feb. 27, 2012 photo, traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. U.S. stocks pulled back Monday from some of their highest levels in three and a half years. Stock markets shrugged off another credit rating downgrade of Greece and eked out some modest gains Tuesday, Feb. 28, as...   (Associated Press)

Stocks are opening mixed after weak reports on factory orders and home prices.

The government said Tuesday that orders for long-lasting manufactured goods fell last month by the most in three years. Businesses made fewer long-term investments. That kind of investment has helped drive the recovery.

An index of home prices fell in December for a fourth straight month in most major U.S. cities as sales remained slow.

The Dow Jones industrial average has flirted with 13,000 since last week, breaking through that point repeatedly but sinking before the market closed.

The Dow is down a point at 12,980 shortly after the market opened. The S&P 500 is up a point, or 0.1 percent, at 1,368. The Nasdaq is up 5, or 0.2 percent, at 2,971.