Investing.com – U.S. stock markets gave up early gains on Monday after the National Association of Home Builders said its index of builder confidence fell to 14 in July, down for the second consecutive month.
Stocks had opened higher amid renewed optimism after better-than-expected second quarter corporate earnings reports and deals.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.09%; the S&P 500 index fell 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite index shed 0.01%.
In a report, the National Association of Home Builders said its index of builder confidence fell to 14 in July, after declining to 17 in June.
Analysts had expected decrease to 16 in July.
Commenting on the report, NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe said "The pause in sales following expiration of the home buyer tax credits is turning out to be longer than anticipated due to the sluggish pace of improvement in the rest of the economy".
Earlier Monday, Halliburton, the largest provider of land-based oilfield services in the U.S. rose 3.7% after reporting earnings that were in excess of expectations. Motorola stocks increased 1.2% after the company agreed to sell wireless network assets to Nokia Siemens Networks.
Boeing Co. advanced 1.9% after winning a USD 9.1 billion order from Emirates.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were also down: France’s CAC 40 shed 0.40%; Germany's DAX fell 0.31%; Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.19%; and the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.29%.
Also Monday, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union withdrew EUR20 billion of financing from Hungary, sending stocks and the forint sliding over 2%. A Hungarian cabinet minister said talks will resume in September.
Stocks had opened higher amid renewed optimism after better-than-expected second quarter corporate earnings reports and deals.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.09%; the S&P 500 index fell 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite index shed 0.01%.
In a report, the National Association of Home Builders said its index of builder confidence fell to 14 in July, after declining to 17 in June.
Analysts had expected decrease to 16 in July.
Commenting on the report, NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe said "The pause in sales following expiration of the home buyer tax credits is turning out to be longer than anticipated due to the sluggish pace of improvement in the rest of the economy".
Earlier Monday, Halliburton, the largest provider of land-based oilfield services in the U.S. rose 3.7% after reporting earnings that were in excess of expectations. Motorola stocks increased 1.2% after the company agreed to sell wireless network assets to Nokia Siemens Networks.
Boeing Co. advanced 1.9% after winning a USD 9.1 billion order from Emirates.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were also down: France’s CAC 40 shed 0.40%; Germany's DAX fell 0.31%; Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.19%; and the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.29%.
Also Monday, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union withdrew EUR20 billion of financing from Hungary, sending stocks and the forint sliding over 2%. A Hungarian cabinet minister said talks will resume in September.