The major equity indices have once again pulled back into the red. The performance of our stock market is not too surprising when considering where a majority of the stock markets around the world closed. Over in China, the Shanghai Composite Index pulled back 245 points and closed down 6.15%. Japan saw its Nikkei-225 Stock Average decrease by approximately 70 points or 0.32%. A bit closer to home, Europe saw 6 out of 8 of its stock markets close in the red, with Greece leading the way down having lost 1.1% during the session. Here in the US, the NASDAQ is struggling the most, down approximately 0.40%. Unlike the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the NASDAQ was unable to break even this morning.

The Census Bureau disappointed the street with its housing permits and starts report. For the month of July, there was a strong monthly decline of 16.3% in the amount of permits issued in July which resulted in a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1.119 million units. Permits were dragged down by the Northeast as New York City began pulling many permits in June; the action negatively impacted July’s figures. The Northeast saw permits decline by 60.2% month-over-month. The West saw the second steepest decline, -9.9%. Starts demonstrated a slow, but positive growth. During the month of July, the SAAR for housing starts rose by 0.17% month-over-month to 1.206 million units. This report indicates that the housing market is not yet as strong as anticipated.