Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.5%) and Nasdaq Composite (-1.3%) settled into a steady decline in recent action, pressured by mega cap losses.

Existing home sales increased 3.4% month-over-month in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.96 million (Briefing.com consensus 3.90 million) from a downwardly revised 3.83 million (from 3.84 million) in September. Sales were up 2.9% from the same period a year ago, which was the first year-over-year increase since July 2021.

The key takeaway from the report is that more inventory is becoming available, but with the ongoing increase in the median home price and mortgage rates remaining elevated, affordability constraints will persist, capping total sales potential.

Separately, the weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventories showed a draw of 3 bcf versus a build of 42 bcf last week.