Home Sales Slippage Hits Stocks

Still sputtering

U.S. stocks fell, paring the biggest monthly gain since October 2011 for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, as fewer Americans signed contracts in June to buy previously owned homes.

Perrigo Co. dropped 4.6 percent after saying it (USPHTMOM) will buy Irish drugmaker Elan Corp. for $8.6 billion. Omnicom Group Inc. jumped 6.5 percent after saying it will merge with France's Publicis Groupe SA to create the world's largest advertising company.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent to 1,687.99 at 10:04 a.m. in New York. The equity benchmark lost less than 0.1 percent last week, halting its longest streak of weekly gains since May 17. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 35.36 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,523.47 today. Trading in S&P 500 stocks was 23 percent below the 30-day average during this time of day.

U.S. stocks fell, paring the biggest monthly gain since October 2011 for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, as fewer Americans signed contracts in June to buy previously owned homes.

Perrigo Co. dropped 4.6 percent after saying it (USPHTMOM) will buy Irish drugmaker Elan Corp. for $8.6 billion. Omnicom Group Inc. jumped 6.5 percent after saying it will merge with France's Publicis

Groupe SA to create the world's largest advertising company.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent to 1,687.99 at 10:04 a.m. in New York. The equity benchmark lost less than 0.1 percent last week, halting its longest streak of weekly gains since May 17. The Dow Jones

Industrial Average dropped 35.36 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,523.47 today. Trading in S&P 500 stocks was 23 percent below the 30-day average during this time of day.