Stocks are lower amid weak home sales data
Stocks are giving up early gains Wednesday after a report showed sales of new homes unexpectedly fell last month.
The Commerce Department says new home sales fell 11.3 percent in November to their lowest level since March. The market had rallied a day earlier after sales of existing homes rose much faster than expected last month.
New home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 355,000, the lowest level since March. Economists had forecast sales would rise to 440,000.
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Stocks are lightly higher after stronger-than-expected data on the labor market
The number of workers filing claims for jobless benefits fell by a surprisingly large amount in the last week to the lowest level in more than a year, the government said.
In addition, U.S. personal spending rose 0.7 percent in October, while durable goods orders unexpectedly fell in the month.
With the unemployment rate at 10.2 percent, investors see an improved labor market as key for the recovery firmly taking hold.
Stocks are lower as the dollar rises and Wall Street digests a week of mixed economic reports
Overseas markets declined. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the ECB plans to start pulling back some of its stimulus programs as the economy begins to recover.
With little U.S. economic news to help sway the market Friday, the dollar is again pressuring stocks. A strengthening dollar drives down foreign demand for commodities, which are often traded in dollars. It also can depress U.S. exports which become more expensive as the dollar rises.
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Stocks are lower as an unexpected drop in home construction raised concerns about the pace of the economy’s recovery
The Commerce Department said construction of homes and apartments fell 10.6 percent in October to an annual rate of 529,000, well below the pace of 600,000 that economists polled by Thomson Reuters had predicted.
Building permits, a key indication for future activity, slid 4 percent to an annual rate of 552,000, also below the rate of 580,000 that analysts had forecast.