Investing.com - U.S. new home sales fell significantly more than expected in June, dampening optimism over the health of the housing sector, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said new home sales dropped by 8.1% to a seasonally adjusted 406,000 units last month, worse than expectations for a decline of 5.3% to 479,000.
New home sales in May were revised down to 442,000 units from a previously reported 504,000 units.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar held on to losses against the euro, with EUR/USD easing up 0.04% to trade at 1.3467.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were higher after the open. The Dow picked up 0.15%, the S&P 500 tacked on 0.15%, while the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.1%.