THE MARKETS

Housing starts were up 0.6 for the fifth straight month. For the second consecutive day, the Dow Jones industrial average was down. The Dow closed at 4,767, down 13.37. The Nasdaq composite index was up today, 10.13, to end the day at 1,060.31. The New York Stock Exchange was also up slightly, 0.55 to 313.11. On the big board, advancers edged decliners 1,102 to 1,080 on moderately active trading of 371 million shares. The Standard & Poor's 500 stocks rose 1.43 to 584.20. In London, gold closed at $385.00, off $ 0.50.