GOOD MORNING. Stocks in Asia closed mixed today, European shares are up, and U.S. futures are pointing to a higher open.
In the U.S., stock market performance will be closely pegged to today’s announcement of existing home sales figures for the month of February, which dropped slightly to 5.02 million units, down from 5.05 million existing home sales in January, according to the National Association of Realtors. It marks the third consecutive monthly drop. Analysts expected a bigger drop to five million.
This news coincides with an 8.5% decline in mortgage loan application volume for the week ending February 19 compared to the previous week, according to Mortgage Bankers Association, which conducts a weekly mortgage application survey. Both indicators suggest that consumers are still widely reluctant or unable to take on deep debt and lock up a significant amount of their savings.
On average, existing home sales represent 70% to 80% of total housing sales – and are thereby a crucial indicator of where the housing market is heading, says Beth Ann Bovino, senior economist at Standard & Poor’s. The drop is due in part to factors like the month’s bad weather and that winter tends to be a slower time for home sales, she says.
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