Stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been in negative territory from the opening bell this morning on the back of higher inflation at the consumer level and weak numbers on housing.

Equities slid on Wednesday morning as an unexpected drop in home construction raised concerns about the pace of the economy’s recovery, say Stephen Bernard and Tim Paradis for the Associated Press. The U.S. Commerce Department reported that the construction of homes and apartments as well as building permits, a key gauge of future activity, fell well short of expectations held by economists. The puts into question Wall Street’s belief in a V-shaped recovery. iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction Index (NYSEArca: ITB) is trading flat this morning.

Inflation figures were also a bit of a surprise to the markets. U.S. inflation accelerated in October as energy prices rose again and car prices rose at the fastest pace since the early 1980s, reports Rex Nutting for MarketWatch. The consumer price index (CPI) rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in October, while the core CPI rate, which excludes food and energy, rose by 0.2%.

Meanwhile, gold hit another fresh record high – near $1150 an ounce – in trading today. Another dip in the value of the U.S. dollar added to momentum buying as prices broke through key technical resistance levels, says Jan Harvey for Reuters. The gold market is being underpinned by fresh interest in gold from central banks after a recent major bullion purchase from India and smaller purchases by the central banks of Sri Lanka and Mauritius. The SPDR Gold Shares Trust ETF (NYSE: GLD) is currently trading up by a half percent at $112.50 a share. (For more stories on gold, see our gold category).

In an interesting development, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is attempting to spruce up their image and generate some goodwill in this holiday season. Goldman is trying a new tack to improve its public image, writes Graham Bowley for The New York Times. The company is apologizing for past mistakes and sharing some of its riches. It will spend $500 million to help thousands of small businesses recover from the recession. (For more stories on the financial sector, visit our financial category).

Tony D’Altorio contributed to this article.

Tags: Commodity ETFs, Financial, GLD, Gold, Homebuilders, ITB, Precious Metals, Real Estate, Sector ETFs