US stocks have closed mostly lower after a mixed report on existing-home sales showed a rocky but improving recovery in the depressed housing market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45.57 points (0.35 per cent), finishing at 13,124.62.
The broad-market S&P 500 lost 2.63 points (0.19 per cent) to 1,402.89, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite inched up 1.17 points (0.04 per cent) to 3,075.32.
The indexes muddled along in listless trade near the neutral line as investors appeared to take a pause after a solid stock run-up since the beginning of the year.
“Amid late downward momentum, the US equity markets finished mixed following an existing-home sales report that was in line with expectations, but offered some encouraging data on prices and inventories,” Charles Schwab analysts said.
The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes, the biggest segment of the depressed US housing market, dipped 0.9 per cent in February.
But they were well above levels from a year ago.
Hewlett-Packard was a heavy drag on the blue-chip Dow. HP sank 2.1 per cent after announcing a consolidation of its computer and printers businesses, to reduce costs.
Apple dipped 0.6 per cent after Consumer Reports said Tuesday that its latest iPad computer tablet emits more heat than the prior version.
Business software and hardware giant Oracle skidded 2.3 per cent, giving back an earlier gain after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
LinkedIn, a social media network for professionals, was a bright spot, jumping 6.5 per cent after a Goldman Sachs upgrade.
The action came after stocks posted modest losses Tuesday amid concerns about cooling economic growth in China and mixed data on the US housing construction sector. The Dow dropped 0.52 per cent, while the S&P 500 lost 0.30 per cent.
Bond prices climbed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.29 per cent from 2.37 per cent Tuesday, while the 30-year declined to 3.38 per cent from 3.46 per cent.
Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.