Wall Street was mixed as a better-than-expected report on US home sales and a weaker-than-anticipated one on manufacturing provided little incentive to push stocks already trading near record highs.
The National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index jumped 6.1 per cent, the biggest increase since April 2010.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said he expects improving home sales in the second half of the year. "Sales should exceed an annual pace of five million homes in some of the upcoming months behind favourable mortgage rates, more inventory and improved job creation," Yun said in a statement. "However, second-half sales growth won't be enough to compensate for the sluggish first quarter and will likely fall below last year's total."
Separately, the Chicago ISM manufacturing index declined more than expected to 62.6 in June, from 65.5 in May.
In the final hour of trading in New York, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.13 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.37 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.08 per cent as gains in shares of Verizon and Boeing offset declines in shares of Visa and Walt Disney.