Investing.com - Pending home sales in the U.S. rose less than expected in April, underlining concerns over the housing sector, industry data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index eased up by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% last month, below expectations for a 1% gain. Pending home sales in March rose by 3.4%.
Year-on-year, pending home sales fell at annualized rate of 9.4% in April, worse than expectations for an 8.9% decline.
Following the release of the data, the euro held on to gains against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD rising 0.07% to trade at 1.3602.
Meanwhile, U.S. equity markets were higher after the open. The Dow 30 rose 0.15%, the S&P 500 advanced 0.25%, while the NASDAQ Composite inched up 0.35%.