Wall Street fell for a third straight session Wednesday as fresh signs of a housing slump triggered concerns that the economy is slowing too fast and could erode corporate profits, the Associated Press reports.
Investors believed that housing sales might be dropping more rapidly than anticipated, and theorized that a soft landing for the U.S. economy might be more difficult to achieve. The report from the National Association of Realtors that sales of previously owned homes dropped in July to a pace of 6.33 million units, the lowest since January 2004.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 41.94, or 0.37 percent, to 11,297.90. Combined with Monday’s and Tuesday’s losses, the drop erased last week’s five-day rally, pushing the Dow 0.73 percent from Friday’s close. Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 5.83, or 0.45 percent, to 1,292.99, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 15.36, or 0.71 percent, to 2,134.66.
