Stock indexes are slipping in midday trading after the government reported that housing construction slowed down during the first month of the year.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 33 points to 14,001 as of noon Eastern Wednesday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped seven points to 1,523. The Nasdaq composite fell 20 points to 3,193.

The Dow closed at its highest level of the year Tuesday, bringing it within one percent of 14,164, the record high reached more than five years ago.

GPS device maker Garmin plunged 9 percent after the company's results missed analysts' forecasts.

Boeing rose 1 percent. An investigation into the overheating of a battery that caused a Boeing 787 to make an emergency landing in Japan last month found that it was incorrectly wired.