Investing.com - U.S. stocks closed mixed Wednesday after the release of disappointing U.S. existing home sales data despite bullish easing word from the Fed minutes.
At the close of U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.23%, the S&P 500 index eased higher 0.02%, while the Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.21%.
Knocking stocks lower, the National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales rose by 2.3% to a seasonally adjusted 4.47 million units in July, disappointing expectations for a 3.2% increase to 4.52 million units.
Existing home sales in June totaled 4.37 million units.
Acting as a bullish force, the heavily anticipated Federal Reserve minutes revealed that many Fed members agree that additional monetary stimulus will be needed if the economy doesn’t show signs of a durable pick up.
Investors were also cautious as Luxemburg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker was to hold talks with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras later Wednesday, to discuss a two-year extension of the country’s economic reform program.
Computer technology giant Dell saw shares plunge 6.04% after the company cut this year’s profit forecast by 20% due to a decline in personal computer sales.
Also in the tech sector, Apple retreated 1.20% after becoming the most highly valued public company ever when its stock reached USD665.15 on Monday.
Separately, the ongoing patent trial between the iPhone maker and Korean rival Samsung Electronics continued to draw media attention, as jurors were reportedly asked to answer more than 600 questions, only to get to the end of their verdict form.
On the upside, Chico's surged 6.32% after the women's apparel retailer posted quarterly results that topped expectations and raised the low end of its full-year revenue outlook.
Toll Brothers also contributed to gains, with shares rallying 4.81% after the luxury homebuilder reported a higher quarterly profit and a sharp rise in new orders.
Bloomberg reported earlier that the U.S. new-home market is beginning to recover as historically low mortgage rates and a tight inventory of existing houses push more people to consider buying from builders.
Elsewhere, Facebook regained some ground on Wednesday, climbing 0.56%, after dropping to record lows earlier in the week amid reports director Peter Thiel sold roughly USD400 million worth of shares in the company, cashing out most of his stake.
Other stocks in focus included Hewlett-Packard, scheduled to post earnings after the closing bell.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 1.51%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.47%, while Germany’s DAX 30 tumbled 1.01%
Trade volumes remained light on Wednesday, with many market participants on summer holidays. Meanwhile, investors are awaiting U.S. new home sales, jobless claims and euro zone PMI on Thursday.