US stocks split as the central bank’s preferred inflation gauge cooled

Pending home sales fell to a 20-year low

With higher mortgage rates on the minds of homebuyers, fewer people are buying homes.

Yahoo Finance’s Danny Romero reports:

Contract signings for existing homes recorded their slowest pace in more than two decades in October.

Home sales under contract fell 1.5% from the previous month, according to the National Association of Realtors on Thursday. The index reading of 71.4 is the lowest since the index was established in 2001. An index level of 100 equates to the pace of contracting activity in 2001.

However, the results were better than the 2.0% decline estimated by Bloomberg economists and came after a larger decline in new home sales in the same month.

The drop in the index, a leading gauge used to gauge the health of the housing market, reflected how rising rates again troubled budget-sensitive buyers in October and reduced pending sales in the resale market by 8.5% annually.

“Rates were 8% in October. They are the highest in 23 years, which pushed affordability to the lowest level,” RSM US Real Estate Senior Analyst Crystal Sunbury told Yahoo Finance ahead of the release. “We will see pending home sales fall in October.”

See also  Link's Awakening remake lets you zoom in to see the entire island

JP Morgan expects to cut the base rate by 100 basis points this year

At the start of the month Wall Street was hopeful—but not convinced—that it would get a much-anticipated interest rate cut in September. Fed Chairman Jerome...

There are great players and potential matches

NFL Guardian Here's what we know about Caps right nowGuardian caps provide added protection over the helmets of players in inherently violent sports. Are...

Nasdaq falls as investors put their time ahead of Nvidia earnings

Shares of Coles ( KSS ) rose as much as 7% in early trading after the company beat Wall Street's revenue expectations by 15...

Dinosaur footprints found on two continents match

The video shows a large dinosaur with identical green bonesThe 150-million-year-old bones discovered in Utah will go on display at the Natural History Museum...

HMD’s Barbie Flip Phone is tough

HMD's Barbie-branded flip phone may be a bit late to catch the hot foldable summer wave, but it's certainly not lacking in appeal. Pre-announced...

Mark Zuckerberg says White House pressured Facebook to censor Covid-19 content | Meta

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has said he is bowing to what he says is pressure from the US government to censor Facebook and Instagram...