* May housing starts jump, industrial production slides
* Best Buy results point to a weaker consumer
* Dow down 1.1 pct; S&P off 1.3 pct; Nasdaq down 1.1 pct (Updates to midafternoon, changes byline)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday as mixed economic data spurred worries of an anemic economic recovery and Best Buy's disappointing results signaled consumer spending remains weak.
While a rebound in May housing starts pointed to some stabilization in that sector, another government report showed industrial production logged a steeper-than-expected slide last month.
Industrial production fell 1.1 percent in May, while capacity utilization, a measure of slack in the U.S. economy, slumped to its lowest level on records dating back to 1967.
After a three-month run that lifted the S&P 500 by as much as 40 percent from 12-year lows, analysts said the economy needs to start showing real recovery to support market gains.
"We're 40 percent off the low, but we're still 40 percent off the high, so the market's at the turning point. It needs to see more evidence that the economy is firmly in recovery mode and that corporate earnings are going to be guided higher over the second half," said John Canally, economist at LPL Financial in Boston.
Best Buy Co Inc, the largest U.S. consumer electronics retailer, posted a slide in same-store sales in its first quarter, a key measure of retail performance, and its shares dropped 7.4 percent to $35.78.
The sales suggested consumers continue to curb spending on discretionary purchases. The S&P retail index tumbled 3.2 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 94.31 points, or 1.10 percent, to 8,517.82. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 12.02 points, or 1.30 percent, to 911.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 19.30 points, or 1.06 percent, to 1,797.08.
In other economic data, a smaller-than-expected rise in May producer prices suggested inflation pressures were muted.
Big industrial manufacturers, whose fortunes are closely tied to a growing economy, fell, with blue-chip 3M Co down 1.5 percent at $58.44.
The broad S&P 500 is still up nearly 35 percent from the 12-year closing low, though its rally wilted in June, and on Monday U.S. stock indexes racked up their biggest percent loss in a month.