NEW YORK, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks closed on Tuesday as investors digested a batch of major economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 69.84 points, or 0.26 percent, to 26,492.21. The S&P 500 decreased 3.81 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,915.56. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 14.22 points, or 0.18 percent, to 8,007.47.
Home prices rose 6 percent annually in July, slower than that of June, according to the S&P Case-Shiller national index on Tuesday.
The 20-city index rose 5.9 percent annually, down from 6.4 percent in June. The 10-city index rose 5.5 percent annually, down from 6.0 percent the previous month.
Las Vegas, Seattle and San Francisco continued to report the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities.
In July, Las Vegas led the way with a 13.7-percent year-over-year price increase, followed by Seattle with a 12.1-percent increase and San Francisco with a 10.8-percent increase.
"Rising homes prices are beginning to catch up with housing... The slowing is widespread," said David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Meanwhile, the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index increased to 138.4 in September, up from 134.7 in August.
"Consumers' assessment of current conditions remains extremely favorable, bolstered by a strong economy and robust job growth," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. Enditem
