Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages are charting a higher path this morning amid broad strength and leadership across mega-cap and tech names.

The ISM Services PMI dipped to 53.6% in April (Briefing.com consensus: 53.9%) from 54.0% in March. The dividing line between expansion and contraction is 50.0%, so the April reading reflects services sector activity growing at a slightly slower pace than the prior month.

The key takeaway from the report is that there was no real change in the key trends for the services sector, which include a modest expansion, contracting employment, and increasing prices.

New home sales increased 7.4% month-over-month in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 682,000 (Briefing.com consensus: 654,000). On a year-over-year basis, new home sales were up 3.3%.

The key takeaway from the report is that the bulk of the increase in sales was driven by lower-priced homes, which drove down average selling prices, but at the same time, the median price of a new home also fell. Altogether the pricing indications reflect some improved positioning for buyers.