Home sales surprise sent stocks higher. Dow is up 41, advancers ahead of decliners almost 3-2 & NAZ is up 21. Not too great, but the bulls will take it. The Commerce Dept reported home sales rose 3.3% in Apr, a pleasant surprise helping lift stocks. However, home sales remain their 17 year lows. Prices for homes dropped 14% in Q1, the highest rate in 20 years. Fannie Mae (FNM) & Freddie Mac (FRE) were each down more than 1% on the news. Oil slipped back to under 130 from concerns that higher priced gas will reduce demand for gas in the US. According to AAA (check their button under More Good Blogs on the right), gas at the pump was 3.94 yesterday.
May consumer confidence fell to a 16 year low of 57.2 in Apr. This represents the 5th straight month of declines. Let's see if the gloomy economic news brings out the bears.
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