Late Buyers Save the Day

"The weather uncertainty, coupled with the inherent unreliability of these numbers, makes us very reluctant to run with the headlines and argue that this is the start of the second leg down in home sales," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist with High Frequency Economics. "We have to wait for the March and April numbers."

"In the meantime," he added, "this report will counter some of the more gung-ho chat after the strong February [existing-home] sales report last week."

Treasury prices were on the rise after the housing data. The 10-year note was up 7/32 to yield 4.59% and the 30-year bond added 12/32 to yield 4.78%.

Wall Street also had to deal with an advance in the price of crude oil. Futures at one point passed $63 a barrel as tension built between the West and Iran, which remains defiant about its nuclear program and continues to hold 15 British sailors and marines captive after seizing them in the Persian Gulf Friday.

The benchmark May contract gained 63 cents to finish at $62.91 a barrel. Since the front-month contract changed from April on Wednesday, crude has risen 6.2%.

Among other commodities, gold futures finished higher by $6.60 at $663.90 an ounce. Silver added 18 cents to $13.41 an ounce. Natural gas gave back 3 cents to $7.24 per million British thermal units.