Pending Home Sales Drop Sharply In January

Despite expectations of a rise, pending home sales for January plummeted 7.6% according to the National Association of Realtors:

The National Association of Realtors says its seasonally adjusted index of sales agreements fell 7.6 percent from December to a January reading of 90.4. It was the lowest reading since last April.

Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected the index would rise to 97.6....

Bad weather was blamed for the result, but it was enough of a shocker to stop an early-morning rally in stocks in its tracks. Factory orders rose by a less than expected amount, but not by much. The housing data has been the mover, more than compensating for strong retail-sales results for February.

It also took its toll on risk appetite. An already-existing rally in the U.S. Dollar Index was revived by the news, and gold fell to $1,126 by 10:45 before recovering somewhat.