Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices trade near their worst levels of the morning. Selling picked up in small cap stocks, leading the Russell 2000 to trade 0.7% lower.

New home sales declined 0.6% month-over-month in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 617,000 units (Briefing.com consensus 640,000) from an upwardly revised 621,000 (from 619,000) in May. On a year-over-year basis, new home sales were down 7.4%.

The key takeaway from the report is that new home sales activity remained soft in June, pressured by a lack of lower-priced homes and affordability pressures stemming from the persistence of high mortgage rates and higher selling prices.

The 2-yr note yield is down ten basis points to 4.39% and the 10-yr note yield is down one basis point to 4.23%.