Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Wall Street is again worrying about the housing market.

A real estate group says sales of previously occupied homes rose modestly from March to April as buyers looked to take advantage of lower prices. Sales rose 2.9% to an annual rate of 4.68 million last month.

But the National Association of Realtors also says inventories are higher, stoking worries that a recovery in housing and the overall economy is far off.

Worries about the fate of General Motors are adding to Wall Street's unease a day after a steep rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average is down 45 at 8,428 after being up modestly ahead of the report. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down 3 at 907, while the Nasdaq composite index is down 1 at 1,750.