By Wallace Witkowski and Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch

Pending home sales surge in April

U.S. stocks closed little changed Thursday after two days of strong gains as crude-oil futures failed to hang on to a move above $50 a barrel and investors brushed off better-than-expected economic reports.

Orders for durable goods (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-durable-goods-orders-jump-34-in-april-2016-05-26) manufactured in the U.S. jumped in April, fueled by higher demand for new cars, trucks and commercial jets. But a key measure of business investment fell again. Meanwhile, jobless claims (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-drop-10000-to-268000-2016-05-26) declined to a one-month low last week, suggesting the labor market remained robust.

A gauge of pending home sales jumped (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pending-home-sales-surge-51-to-a-10-year-high-in-april-2016-05-26)in April, rising to the highest level since February 2006. Sales of new and existing homes also surged in April, (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/housings-lost-decade-may-be-coming-to-an-end-2016-05-24) a sign that builders are stepping up construction as demand for housing remains robust.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 23.22 points, or 0.1%, to close at 17,828.29, following a 359-point rally over the previous two sessions. The average traded within a narrow range of 85 points over Thursday's session.

The S&P 500 index , which spent the session fluctuating between slight losses and gains within a 7-point range, closed down 0.44 points at 2,090.10, weighed down by the materials and financials sectors.

The Nasdaq Composite Index , which had also spent the session switching between slight gains and losses, closed up 6.88 points at 4,901.77.

Following the big run-up of the last couple of days, stronger data is cause for investors to take their foot off the gas, said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth.

"Better economic data as far as durable goods and initial unemployment claims gives the market a bit of weariness because now the Fed has something to point to for a June rate hike," said Pavlik.

"While we saw a nice rally over the past few days, and it appeared the market is signaling that it can handle rate hikes, I would question whether this rally is sustainable, because earnings growth is still negative," said Karyn Cavanaugh, market strategist at Voya Investment Management.

Brent crude briefly rose above $50 a barrel on Thursday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brent-crude-tops-50-a-barrel-for-first-time-since-november-2016-05-25) for the first time in six months, and West Texas Intermediate crude also poked above the $50 mark, before settling down 0.2% at $49.48 a barrel.

The market's gyrations on Thursday come against the backdrop of the Dow industrials marking its 120 year anniversary. Read how to use that market to your advantage (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-to-use-the-dow-industrials-to-your-best-advantage-2016-05-26).

Individual movers:Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR) shares jumped 13% after the discount retailer boosted its outlook (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-tree-raises-outlook-as-sales-double-2016-05-26), while Dollar General Corp.(DG) shares rose 4.6% even as adjusted quarterly profit missed forecasts, with revenue topping expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-general-profit-beats-but-sales-fall-short-in-first-quarter-2016-05-26).

HP Inc.(HPQ) shares rose 6.8% after the PC and printer maker reported quarterly results (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hp-inc-revenue-declines-full-year-guidance-cut-2016-05-25-164851221) late Wednesday.

PVH Corp.(PVH) shares rose 4.4% after the Calvin Klein parent company raised its guidance (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pvh-raises-earning-guidance-on-strong-sales-2016-05-25-174852516) for the year.

Signet Jewelers Ltd.(SIG)posted adjusted quarterly profit that beat, but revenue missed. Shares fell 11%.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co.(ANF) shares sank 16% as the retailer's same-store sales fell 4% and its quarterly loss was bigger than expected (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/abercrombies-sales-slip-as-shopper-traffic-stalls-2016-05-26).

Costco Wholesale Corp.(COST) revealed late Wednesday that its sales stagnated in its third quarter (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/costco-sales-stall-in-third-quarter-2016-05-25), but shares were up 3.6%.

Other markets:European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-shares-waver-as-spanish-banks-slide-oil-stocks-rise-2016-05-26) ended slightly higher, and most Asian markets closed with modest gains (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oils-rise-buoys-asian-energy-shares-2016-05-26). Gold futures settled at a seven-week low, (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-futures-snap-slide-as-dollar-eases-2016-05-26) settling down 0.3% at $1,220.40 an ounce, and a key dollar index inched lower.

Economic news: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday reportedly warned (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/are-commodities-signaling-a-lehman-sized-meltdown-japans-abe-thinks-so-2016-05-26) that the commodities selloff in the last two years could indicate another global financial crisis is coming.

Pending home sales for April jumped 5.1% to their highest level since February 2006 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pending-home-sales-surge-51-to-a-10-year-high-in-april-2016-05-26), soundly topping an expected 0.8% increase.

On the Federal Reserve front, Fed Gov. Jerome Powell said at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C., that a hike in interest rates hike may come soon but weak productivity will curb further hikes (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-powell-interest-rate-hike-may-come-soon-but-weak-productivity-will-cap-increases-2016-05-26).

Speaking in Singapore, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard noted the U.S. job market is relatively tight and could put upward pressure on inflation, according to a Reuters report (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-bullard-idUSKCN0YH10B).

--Victor Reklaitis in London contributed to this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 26, 2016 16:24 ET (20:24 GMT)

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