Stocks reversed yesterday, closing lower as a rally in major tech names — which briefly pushed the S&P 500 into positive territory for the year — fizzled out.

Sales of newly built homes jumped 55% annually in June, according to a monthly survey by John Burns Real Estate Consulting, which has historically mirrored the U.S. Census report. It was the largest annual gain since homebuilding began again following the epic housing crash a decade ago. It is also the highest pace since the height of the unprecedented housing boom in 2005.

Beverage giant Pepsi released a second-quarter earnings report that showed a 3% decrease in sales. Earnings per share slid 18%, but the company still turned a profit.  Pepsi generated $16 billion in revenue for the quarter ended June 13. Earnings per share were $1.18, down from $1.44 last year.  Their snack food brands Frito-Lay and Quaker Foods both saw big sales increases as people stayed at home in the quarter.  Shares of Pepsi are higher on the news.

The federal government incurred the biggest monthly budget deficit in history in June as spending on programs to combat the coronavirus recession exploded while millions of job losses cut into tax revenues.  The Treasury Department reported that the deficit hit $864 billion last month, an amount of red ink that surpasses most annual deficits in the nation’s history.
 
With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, I’m Tyler Simones.