Reuters: US Dollar Report: GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares slide on sour US housing data

Reuters: US Dollar Report Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares slide on sour US housing data Mar 21st 2012, 15:19 Wed Mar 21, 2012 11:19am EDT * Stocks tick up ahead of U.S. housing data * Dollar, benchmark U.S. Treasury prices gain By Herbert Lash NEW YORK, March 21 (Reuters) - Disappointing U.S. housing data on Wednesday dashed investors' hopes for further evidence of a stronger economy than forecast, putting a damper on the global equity rally and leading the dollar lower. U.S. home resales unexpectedly fell in February and the supply of properties on the market rose, underscoring the weak state of the housing market. However, the pace of sales in January was revised up, suggesting housing demand and price were at least stabilizing. Wall Street retreated from early gains while stocks in Europe slipped further on the data. "We're not seeing any pricing power which suggests it's still a weak market. But prices are not dropping as sharply as they were several years ago. We are seeing some signs of stability in pricing," said Gary Thayer, chief macro strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 22.82 points, or 0.17 percent, at 13,147.37. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 1.23 points, or 0.09 percent, at 1,404.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 3.88 points, or 0.13 percent, at 3,078.03. MSCI's all-country world equity index slid 0.3 percent, crimping a rally of more than 10 percent so far this year after reaching its highest level since August on Monday. In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top regional shares fell 0.6 percent, while emerging stocks slid 0.3 percent. The U.S. dollar pared gains against the yen on the housing data. The dollar was up against the yen to 83.86. The euro rose slightly against the dollar on the data. The euro trading at $1.3233. U.S. Treasury debt prices rose as investors took advantage of a recent gain in yields to do some bargain hunting, although price losses were limited by expectations that a better economic picture would continue to erode the value of government debt. Treasuries prices plunged last week and yields solidly broke above ranges that had held for four and a half months, as recent data has pointed to an economic recovery that is gaining steam, lowering expectations of further economic stimulus from the Federal Reserve. "People are starting to price out the end of Fed support," said William Larkin, fixed income portfolio manager at Cabot Money Management in Salem, Massachusetts. "Over time, it is likely that as the economy recovers and we get stronger and stronger economic data, that yields will continue to rise." Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were trading 11/32 higher in price to yield 2.32 percent, while 30-year bonds were 19/32 higher to yield 3.42 percent. Brent oil traded near break-even of $124.12 a barrel. U.S. light sweet crude oil rose 33 cents to $106.40 a barrel. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions