| Reports of slowing housing construction causes stock market to drop |
| News - Financial News |
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--(www.FinancialNewsUSA.com)-- 11/18/2009 - US Market industry news provided by Financial News USA. With a lower than expected report on housing construction, the stock market slipped as investors turned cautious that the pace of economic recovery will continue to be slow. The report by The Commerce Department said construction of homes and apartments fell 10.6 percent in October to an annual rate of 529,000. This of course will has investors trying to determine if the slip is a signal that the economy continues to be weak or home contractors and builders are hesitant to start new projects with the news that the government will end the tax credit for first-time homebuyers that was set to end this month through June. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) was down 37 points, or 0.3%, at mid-day trade. This comes after the Dow had made big gain in the last 9 days of trading. The S&P 500 (SPX) lost 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) declined 0.6%. Oil prices rose above $80 a barrel, while gold hit another all-time high of $1,148.40 per ounce. The dollar weakened against rival currencies, with the euro nearing $1.50. Four stocks fell for every three that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 423.1 million shares compared with 367.8 million shares traded at the same point Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei index finished the session 0.6% lower. Major indexes in Europe were higher in midday trading. About Financial News USA Financial News USA is a Next Generation Financial Communications firm focused on the distribution of market moving news. Financial News USA has developed leading edge e-publishing tools including programming proprietary RSS feeds and enabling open source press release publishing across its network. Financial News USA has been aggressively expanding its news distribution network by targeting direct feeds to financial news and data providers such as FinancialContent, Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO), among others. Financial News USA offers a free news feed available online (www.financialnewsusa.com) to websites and financial services looking for content and for individual investors looking to stay informed on the financial markets. Financial News USA and its affiliates charge each client cash for news distribution and may take an equity position in the companies mentioned herein, please visit the disclaimer at www.financialnewsusa.com. 
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