The housing market, a source of so many of the country’s economic problems, caused more headaches for Wall Street on Thursday. Stocks fell after a real estate group reported that sales of existing homes dropped 2.7 percent in August. The figures disappointed economists and investors, who had been expecting a fifth consecutive month of gains.
The Dow Jones industrial average declined 41.11 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 9,707.44. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index lost 10.09 points, or 1 percent, to 1,050.78, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 23.81 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,107.61.
The selling ran through many sectors of the market. Big banks and regional lenders that offer mortgages and construction loans were down. Shares of major home builders like Lennar and D. R. Horton sank, as did big industrial companies like Caterpillar and manufacturers that make the materials used to build homes and offices.
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