Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.6%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.8%), and DJIA (+0.5%) are now a touch off of their opening highs, though they still remain seated with nice gains. 

Existing home sales increased 0.5% month-over-month in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million (Briefing.com consensus 4.10 million) from an upwardly revised 4.11 million (from 4.10 million) in October. Sales were down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis.

The key takeaway from the report is that home sales in November were aided by lower mortgage rates, yet limited inventory, combined with high prices, got in the way of stronger selling activity.

The final University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment reading for December decreased to 52.9 (Briefing.com consensus: 53.3) from the preliminary reading of 53.3. In the same period a year ago, the index stood at 74.0.

The key takeaway from the report is that consumer sentiment has fallen sharply versus the year-ago period, with "pocketbook issues," affordability concerns, and labor market worries weighing on consumers' psyche.