Wall Street builds momentum, stocks advance

Investors restarted Wall Street's rally Tuesday, buying financial and homebuilder stocks following a surprisingly upbeat report on housing starts.

The Commerce Department's report that new home construction rose unexpectedly to an annual rate of 583,000 in February more than offset any concerns from news that Alcoa Inc. is cutting its dividend and Nokia Corp. is laying off 1,700 workers.

The market fluctuated throughout the session before turning higher in the afternoon. Investors were also awaiting the outcome of the Fed's two-day meeting that ends Wednesday. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates at their current historically low levels, but …