The US markets ended mostly lower on Friday, after moving to the upside early in the session, as traders continued to digest yesterday's Labor Department report showing initial jobless claims once again dropped to their lowest level in well over a year. The data further reinforced the view that the disappointing monthly employment report for April was an anomaly and not a sign of an economic downturn. Traders generally remain optimistic about the economic outlook but also remain wary of signs that the Federal Reserve will soon consider tapering its asset purchases.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released a report this morning showing an unexpected decrease in existing home sales in the month of April. NAR said existing home sales tumbled by 2.7 percent to an annual rate of 5.85 million in April after plunging by 3.7 percent to a rate of 6.01 million in March. The slump surprised market participants, who had expected existing home sales to surge up by 2.0 percent. Existing home sales declined for the third straight month but were still up by 33.9 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
Nasdaq fell 64.75 points or 0.48 percent to 13,470.99 and S&P 500 was down by 3.26 points or 0.08 percent to 4,155.86, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.69 points or 0.36 percent to 34,207.84.