The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as many as 68 points just moments after the market opened this morning. The Dow recovered most of those losses after The Federal Reserve released its July 2010 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices which indicated that banks had finally loosened lending standards in July. While there was no change reported in commercial real estate lending standards, a small number of banks loosened standards on mortgage lending for primary residences. Consumer lending standards were also reported to be slightly less severe. To access the full report, click here.
The National Association of Home Builders stated today that builder confidence for new single-family construction had fallen for the third month and is now at its lowest level since March of 2009. This reduced confidence indicates some bearishness about economic recovery but it wasn’t enough to completely kill investor’s spirits as the Nasdaq rose 8.39 points to 2,181.87 and the S&P 500 rose .13 points to 1,079.38. The Dow fell 1.14 points to 10,302.01.
European and Asian markets were mixed today as China announced a growth rate of 10.3 percent for the second quarter of 2010.
