Financial Services Roundup: Market Talk

The latest Market Talks covering Financial Services. Exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

1009 ET – U.S. pending home sales fell to their lowest level since early April during the four weeks ending July 26, according to Redfin. That’s a 1.7% drop in the last week alone. Redfin says tours of home listings are up 15% since the start of the year, compared with a 31% increase at this time last year, according to data from ShowingTime, a real estate metrics and analytics site. Homebuying demand is declining partly because mortgage rates are rising, Redfin says. The daily average rate rose to 6.85% at the end of last week, the highest level in over a year. Although the labor market remains strong, the combination of high borrowing costs and widespread economic uncertainty is prompting many house hunters to press pause, Redfin says. ([email protected])

0541 ET – The tone of China’s Politburo meeting, which ended Thursday, was less upbeat than in April, says Capital Economics’ Julian Evans-Pritchard in a note. This would likely reflect the deterioration in a number of economic indicators since then, the head of China economics adds. The readout promised to step up counter-cyclical adjustments in response, however it seems that this will mainly involve making better use of existing fiscal space rather than any major new stimulus measures. The forward guidance on monetary policy was also non-committal, with the Politburo calling for adjustments when appropriate, he says. ([email protected])

0538 ET – ING Groep raised guidance on all key metrics as the Dutch bank is benefiting from strong growth in lending volumes and good cost control, RBC Capital Markets’ Anke Reingen says in a research note. The bank reported a strong set of second-quarter results, with volume growth driving commercial net interest income higher, the analyst says. “In combination with good cost control, reported trends and upgraded guidance for commercial [net interest income] should lead to consensus upgrades,” she adds. Moreover, ING’s new outlook seems to be based on potentially conservative interest-rate assumptions, according to RBC. Shares rise 2.3%. ([email protected])