Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.1%) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.3%) are near session highs while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.3%) and Russell 2000 (-0.4%) lag somewhat.

New home sales declined 11.3% month-over-month in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 619,000 units (Briefing.com consensus 650,000) from an upwardly revised 698,000 (from 634,000) in April. On a year-over-year basis, new home sales were down 16.5%.

The key takeaway from the report is that new home sales activity languished in May, but after accounting for the upward revision to April sales, the combined two-month period was actually better than what was embedded in the consensus estimate for May (650,000) and the original report for April (634,000). Even so, it is clear that higher mortgage rates and elevated prices continue to pressure new home sales (-16.5% yr/yr).

The 10-yr yield continues to climb, sitting at 4.31% now, which is seven basis points higher than yesterday's settlement.