Stocks Move Modestly Lower After Disappointing Housing Data - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After ending the previous session modestly higher, stocks are giving back some ground in early trading on Wednesday. The major averages have all dipped into negative territory, although selling pressure has remained relatively subdued.

In recent trading, the major averages have climbed off their worst levels, but they remain in the red. The Dow is down 26.92 points or 0.2 percent at 18,520.38, the Nasdaq is down 2.72 points or 0.1 percent at 5,257.36 and the S&P 500 is down 3.30 points or 0.2 percent at 2,183.60.

The pullback by stocks comes following the release of a report from the National Association of Realtors showing a substantial decrease in existing home sales in the month of July.

NAR said existing home sales slumped 3.2 percent to an annual rate of 5.39 million in July from 5.57 million in June. Economists had expected sales to dip by 0.9 percent to a rate of 5.52 million.

With the steep monthly decline, existing home sales are down by 1.6 percent compared to the same month a year ago, reflecting the first year-over-year drop since November of 2015.

However, traders remain reluctant to make significant moves ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later in the week.

Yellen is due to speak at the Kansas City Fed's monetary policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, and traders are likely to look for clues about the outlook for interest rates in her remarks.

Nonetheless, gold stocks have shown a steep decline in early trading, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 3.8 percent. With the drop, the index has fallen to its lowest intraday level in almost two months.

The weakness in the gold sector comes amid a notable decrease by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery sliding $16.90 to $1,329.20 an ounce.

Steel stocks have also come under pressure on the day, although most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves.

In overseas trading, stocks markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in yet another mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped by 0.8 percent.

The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has fallen by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are moving modestly lower for the second consecutive session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 1.5 basis points at 1.568 percent.