Today is Thursday, and Weather is sunny in here.
Stocks fell for a second day Thursday after the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes dropped 2.7 percent in August after jumping 7.2 percent in July. Economists had expected sales would post their fifth straight monthly increase.
The market climbed in morning trading following a surprise drop in the number of people seeking unemployment benefits. The housing numbers upended that advance, however, and stocks never recovered.
Financial stocks and home builders also lost ground after the housing numbers.
Thursday's retreat came a day after investors looked past a more upbeat assessment of the economy from the Federal Reserve and worried about what will happen once the government starts to wind down its economic stimulus efforts.
The Dow fell 41.11, or 0.4 percent, to 9,707.44. The S&P 500 index fell 10.09, or 1.0 percent, to 1,050.78, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 23.81, or 1.1 percent, to 2,107.61.
Oil dropped $3.08, or 4.4 percent, to settle at $65.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold ended below $1,000 for the first time in two weeks. Silver also posted a big drop.
Bond prices rose, pushing yields higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.38 percent from 3.43 percent late Wednesday.
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