World Stocks Hold Steady After US Housing News

PAN PYLAS

LONDON (AP) — World stock markets were barely changed Tuesday as further upbeat U.S. economic news helped offset profit-taking following the previous session's big gains.

In Europe, Germany's DAX closed essentially unchanged at 5,144.60, up an infinitesimal 1.5 point, while France's CAC-40 index was only 1.45 point lower at 3,378.04. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares underperformed its European counterparts, ending down 29.17 points, or 0.7 percent, at 4,477.02 as it was dragged down by banking stocks after a major Middle Eastern shareholder in Barclays PLC said it intends to sell part of its stake, potentially taking a big profit on its seven-month investment.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was also basically flat at midday New York time, up just 1.1 point at 8,722.54 while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.07 point to 941.80.

For most of the session, stocks in Europe and the U.S. had been in retreat amid profit-taking following big gains on Monday but a strong housing survey enticed buyers back into the markets.

The National Association of Realtors said the number of pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose 6.7 percent in April — the biggest one-month gain since October 2001.