US stocks pull back ahead of existing home sales data

Stocks declined moderately Thursday as investors sifted through another stream of earnings reports and awaited the release of key housing data.

A fresh reading on sales of existing homes will likely show sales resumed their decline in June after a slight rebound in May. The National Association of Realtors' report is scheduled for release at 10 a.m. EDT.

Sales are expected to fall by 1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.940 million units in June, down from 4.990 million in May, according to Thomson/IFR.

Among the day's earnings reports, Ford Motor Co. reported a big loss, and Dow Chemical Co. said higher costs for raw materials sent its earnings down sharply. Drugmakers Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Eli Lilly & Co. both reported higher earnings as the weak dollar boosted foreign sales

In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 52.11, or 0.45 percent, to 11,580.27. The blue chip index rose nearly 170 points in the past two sessions, so a pullback as part of the normal ebb and flow of trading wasn't unexpected.

Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.40, or 0.27 percent, to 1,278.79, and the Nasdaq composite index declined 7.26, or 0.31 percent, to 2,318.61.

Stocks rose sharply the past two session as the price of oil continued its decline. The price is now down more than $20 after just weeks ago hitting a record above $147 a barrel.

(Agencies)