Wall Street was red again on Tuesday, apparently trying to go toe to toe with Santa’s outfit. The slew of housing data all came out worse than expected. Existing home sales fell 8.6 percent to an annual rate of 4.49 million in November, The median sales price plunged 13.2 percent in November to $181,300, from $208,000 a year ago. That was the lowest price since February 2004, and the biggest year-over-year drop on records going back to 1968.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 100.28, or 1.18%, to 8,419.49. The Dow is down more than 400 points, or 4.6 percent, so far for the month of December and 36.5% on the year. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 8.47, or 0.97%, to 863.16. The Nasdaq composite index fell 10.81, or 0.71%, to 1,521.54. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 6.43, or 1.35%, to 468.64. Volume was extremely low, with 3.63 billion shares traded, down from 4.31 billion shares on Monday.

Morning Outlook

It seems as though weak economic data is finally catching up to the markets, as equities sold off across the globe. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average dropped 206.68 points, or 2.4%, to 8,517.10, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed down 0.3% to 14,184.14, while South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.4% 1,128.51.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said house prices in Britain will fall 10% next year as banks rein in lending and buyers are deterred by the economic slowdown.
On that news, Britain’s FTSE 100 index fell 1.1% to 4,210.10, while France’s CAC-40 lost 0.73% to 3,105.71.

Futures in the U.S. are slightly negative after giving up modest gains earlier in the morning. Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 6, to 8,382. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures were even at 857.90, while Nasdaq 100 index futures gained 0.50, or 0.04%, to 1,185.

Economic Calendar
Jobs Jobs and Jobs as the market close at 1PM for the Christmas holiday.

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Durable goods orders: Measures the month over month change in orders placed with domestic manufacturers for immediate and future delivery of factory hard goods. Usually durable goods orders follow the trend in consumer spending, and therefore, a measure of strength in the economy. The consensus estimate is for a decline in November of 3%.

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Jobless Claims: New unemployment claims for the week of December 20, to show the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. The fewer people filing for unemployment benefits, the more have jobs, the more income in the consumer’s pocket, as well as a forecast on the strength of the economy. The consensus is for an increase of 552,000 for first time jobless claims.

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Personal Income: the dollar value of income received from all sources by individuals. Consumer spending: Includes consumer purchases of durable and nondurable goods, and services.

Both figures are month over month changes from October to November. The consensus is for no change in personal income, while consumer spending should see a decline of 0.7%. Consumer spending declined 1% in October.