Stocks Ease Off Highs in Face of Data

Updated from 9:42 a.m. EST

Stocks in New York lost some of their early gains Tuesday as investors took in the worst pending home sales data to date and the release of other economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 5.5 points at 8947, and the S&P 500 added 1.1 points at 928. The Nasdaq was rising 9.5 points at 1637.

Wall Street posted an apathetic trading day Monday as updates on U.S. auto sales, Steve Jobs' health, the president elect's stimulus plan, and disgraced investor Bernard Madoff played on the market.

The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that thepending home sales index declined in the face of job losses and an eroding economy after holding fairly stable for a year. The index, based on contracts signed in November, fell 4% to 82.3 from 85.7 in October, and is 5.3% below a year prior. It's the lowest reading since the series began in 2001, according to the NAR.

"December's housing market activity could be comparably lower due to ongoing problems in the economy, so a real estate-focused stimulus plan is urgently needed," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management said its December index of non-manufacturing activity, rose to 40.6 from 37.3, four points higher than expected.

The Commerce Department reported that November factory orders fell 4.6%, double the expected decline.

Investors still have an eye out for minutes from the December meeting of the Federal Reserve in which the key benchmark interest rate was to scaled back to a range of zero to 0.25%.

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