Trade deficit, home sales, durable-goods – 3 market events to know today

Here are three market stories to be aware of at the start of today’s trading session:

In May, the trade deficit in goods declined 3.7 percent to $64.8 billion, which is under the initial forecast of $69.2 billion. Both imports and exports climbed last month, with wholesale inventories advancing 0.5 percent and retail inventories jumping 0.4 percent.

According to the National Association of Realtors, U.S. pending home sales fell 0.5 percent last month to a reading of 105.9. The original projection was a 0.6 percent increase. The index is also 2.2 percent lower than it was the same time a year ago.

The U.S. government said on a Wednesday that orders for durable goods slipped 0.6 percent in May. The largest declines were seen in automobiles and trucks. Analysts are warning that the slump may be in connection to the trade spats between the U.S. and the rest of the world and businesses are sitting on the sidelines, hesitant to make a move.

At the time of this writing, the Dow Jones is up more than 200 points, the S&P 500 rose nearly 20 points, and the NASDAQ increased 35 points. Gold shed another $4 to $1,255 an ounce, while silver slid $0.12 to $16.12 per ounce.