New Home Sales Miss Estimates; Housing Stocks Weaken

New Home Sales fell unexpectedly in July, showing a drop of -2.40 percent versus an expected gain of 5.8 percent, with June numbers being revised down from a drop of seven percent to drop of 8.1 percent.

Shares in housing stocks and SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF XHB are off the highs of the day following the release.

Shares of XHB had traded as high as $32.00, but pulled back to about $31.78.

Individual housing stocks, such as Toll Brothers TOL, Pulte Group PHM and DR Horton DHI have followed similar price patterns, with all three stocks now well off Monday's highs