This is the final day of August trading and the Dow and S&P 500 were holding on to small monthly gains, while the Nasdaq was up nearly 1.2%. (CNBC)

The pace of U.S. home price gains slowed in June as the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-City Composite index rose 5.1% year over year.  Sales of existing homes are at running at about 5.5 million units annually with inventory levels under five months. Portland, Oregon, led the gainers with price appreciation of 12.6%, Seattle followed with an 11% increase, and Denver came in third with a 9.2% gain. (CNBC)

Payroll giant ADP says the private sector added 177,000 jobs in August.  The big government jobs report will be Friday morning.

Tax preparer H&R Block reported a loss of $123.7 million in its latest quarter. The company had sales of $125.2 million.  H&R Block shares have fallen 27% percent in 2016 are down 29% the last 12 months. (AP)

S&P 500 is up 1 and the NASDAQ is down 3.  MSCI International Index is flat.

Oil is down 50 cents at $45.87 a barrel. U.S. crude is up nearly 12% for August. (Reuters)

Gold is down $5 at $1316 a Troy ounce. The glittery stuff is heading for a 2.8% drop in August. (Reuters)

With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, a Registered Investment Advisor I am Troy Reinhart.