Investing.com - U.S. stocks drifted lower on Friday after data on home sales disappointed Wall Street.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.19%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.19%, while the Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.10%.
The National Association of Realtors reported earlier that U.S. existing home sales declined 5.1% to 4.62 million units last month, outpacing expectations for a 4.3% drop to 4.68 million units.
In December, existing home sales were revised to a 0.8% rise to 487 million units from an initially estimated 1% increase.
The Federal Reserve has said it will pay close attention to data when deciding the pace at which it winds down its $65 billion monthly bond-buying program, which boosts stocks by lowering borrowing costs.
Stock-market investors concluded, however, that even if the Fed does take its time winding down the program, bond purchases are still on their way out.
Elsewhere, software maker Intuit, computer maker Hewlett-Packard and online travel booking company Priceline.com reported second-quarter results that beat market expectations.
Separately, Amazon.com shares rose after the Wall Street Journal reported the online retailer may add brands such as Ralph Lauren and J. Crew.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Walt Disney, up 1.19%, Nike, up 1.18%, and McDonald's, up 0.73%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Verizon, down 1.74%, Chevron, down 1.66%, and Intel, down 1.23%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished mixed.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.36%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.59%, while Germany's DAX 30 rose 0.40%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 rose 0.37%.