The pace of new home sales slipped last month on weakness across most of the country, as elevated prices and towering mortgage rates continued to hamper affordability. Transactions for fresh builds fell to 716,000 seasonally adjusted annualized units, a 4.7% month over month (m\/m) slip from July. However, August\u2019s figure did beat the median estimate of 700,000. Volumes were weakest in the Northeast, West and Midwest with the m\/m stride of closings decreasing 27.3%, 17.8% and 5.8% while the South provided a modest offset, increasing 2.7% during the period. Inventories grew last month, indicated by the amount of supply relative to the rate of current monthly sales, which rose to 7.8 from 7.3 in July. Finally, the median and average sales prices dropped to $420,600 and $492,700 from $429,000 and $508,200, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Markets are mixed with traders giving Beijing’s stimulus a second thought and focusing on whether the measures point to economic desperation and or outcomes that will bolster global markets. In stocks, areas that are presumed to benefit the most from aggressive rate cuts are actually selling off, with yesterday\u2019s recovery and today\u2019s flat action dominated almost exclusively by semiconductor juggernaut Nvidia, with the company\u2019s CEO Jensen Huang done selling shares for now. Ladies and gentlemen, the firm\u2019s shares have gained almost 10% in two days, and it is essentially holding up the benchmarks. Sectoral breadth is awful with just the technology industry gaining; it\u2019s up 0.5%. Meanwhile, healthcare, energy and financials are piloting the laggards; they\u2019re down 0.8%, 0.8% and 0.7%. All major stateside indices are lower though, with the Russell 2000, Dow Jones Industrial, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite travelling south by 1%, 0.5%, 0.2% and 0.1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fixed-income, currency and commodity land, materials, metals and liquids are giving back much of the gains stemming from yesterday\u2019s Beijing exuberance. Lumber, crude oil, silver, copper and gold are down by 1.3%, 1.2%, 0.7%, 0.5% and 0.1%. WTI crude is trading at $70.60, despite rising hostilities in the Middle and Far East, stimulus from Beijing and this morning\u2019s US Department of Energy report printing inventory draws. Yeah, all of those bullish developments are failing to lift the essential liquid, that\u2019s how bad the demand outlook is out of Beijing. Lumber, meanwhile, is suffering from real estate weakness as the long-end of the yield curve is offering no sympathy to the Federal Reserve, prospective home buyers or potential purchasers of capital-intensive manufactured goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/09\/New-Home-Sales-9-25-24-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nNvidia Has Supported Equities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bullish Catalysts Fail to Boost Crude<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Vigilantes Protest Fed\u2019s 50<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"10-Year](\"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/09\/10-Year-Yield-9-25-24.png\")
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