* New home sales tumble to record low in July
* U.S. durable goods orders rise less than expected
* S&P's Ireland downgrade weighs
* Indexes down: Dow 0.4 pct, S&P 0.6 pct, Nasdaq 0.4 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
(Updates to open, adds home sales data)
By Ryan Vlastelica
NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, with the Dow and S&P on track for a fifth straight day of losses as another weak reading on the U.S. housing market underlined the prospect of a sharp slowdown.
Concerns about global growth and a less-than-forecast rise in July durable goods orders pressured equities, but an S&P 500 index technical support level helped buffer losses.
July new home sales tumbled 12.4 percent to a record low, according to government data, well beneath forecasts. Tuesday data from an industry group showed an unexpectedly large drop in existing home sales, ratcheting up concerns that the economic recovery was even weaker than had been feared. For details, see [ID:nN25127128]
The data "raises the concerns for a double-dip recession," said Wayne Schmidt, chief investment officer of Gradient Investments in St. Paul, Minnesota. "Housing is certainly an important part of the economy, and it's been down and out for a while."
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 42.53 points, or 0.42 percent, at 9,997.92. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 5.86 points, or 0.56 percent, at 1,046.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 7.56 points, or 0.36 percent, at 2,116.20.
The S&P 500 found support at 1,040, a level closely watched by chartists. The benchmark hit February, May and early June lows in the 1,040 area, indicating some investors may see a dip below it as a buying opportunity.
Standard & Poor's late on Tuesday cut its credit rating on Ireland and assigned it a negative outlook, expecting the country to face substantially higher costs to support its ailing financial institutions.
U.S.-listed shares of Allied Irish Bank
The move "puts the financial issues with Europe back in the forefront, and that's not good news," said Russell Croft, co-portfolio manager at the Baltimore-based Croft Value Fund. "There are a lot of problems there, and every time the economy takes a step forward it takes another one back."
Both luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc
(Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)