Stocks were little changed on more weak economic data. Dow was down 16, decliners slightly ahead of advancers & NAZ was essentially even. The Pending Home Sales Index fell to 83 in March, down 1% from a downwardly revised reading of 83.8 in Feb & down 20% from the prior year. However, the rate of decline was in line with estimates. The Labor Dept reported that labor productivity in Q1 was up 2.2%, higher than analyst estimates of 1½% & this figure was below 2.8% in the prior qtr. Higher productivity is a sign inflation pressures could be easing.
Oil remains the biggest news story of the day as it remains near 122 after approaching 123 on worries about supplies from Nigeria & the dollar which has weakened in the last couple of days. The price of gas at the pump is near 3.62 according to AAA.
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