NEW YORK -- Stocks fell today as investors digested a better-than-expected home sales report that still showed continued weakness, and as traders squared their portfolios ahead of the three-day holiday weekend.
The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales fell 1% last month. That's better than analysts' forecast of a 1.6% decline, but the news was still unwelcome to a market nervous about the continuing housing slump and the impact of the rising price of oil on consumers.
Meanwhile, rising oil prices also weighed on stocks. A barrel of oil is up $2.36 at $133.17 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices are set for a third weekly gain after surging to a record $135.09 a barrel on Thursday. Investors are buying on the belief that supply can't keep up with growing global demand from countries like China and India.
In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrials fell 88.75, or 0.70%, to 12,536.87.
Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 9.49, or 0.68%, to 1,384.86, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 13.33, or 0.54%, to 2,451.25.
