Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices moved off their opening levels, trading slightly lower. Still, the indices trade in relatively tight ranges. The S&P 500 has moved about 25 points between its intraday high and intraday low.

Existing home sales increased 1.3% month-over-month in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.95 million (Briefing.com consensus 3.90 million) from an upwardly revised 3.90 million (from 3.89 million) in June. Sales were down 2.5% from the same period a year ago.

The key takeaway from the report is that more inventory is becoming available with mortgage rates dropping, yet it is still a tight market, evidenced by the ongoing increase in the median home price.

Treasury yields were already elevated compared to yesterday's settlement and moved higher in response to the data. The 10-yr note yield is up eight basis points to 3.86% and the 2-yr note yield is up eight basis points to 4.00%.