Sales of new single-family houses in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 689,000, according to estimates released jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 6.7% above the revised April rate of 646,000 and is 14.1% above the May 2017 estimate of 604,000.

Yesterday, the Dow lost 328.09 points (1.33%) to finish at 24,252.80, the NASDAQ closed 160.81 points (2.09%) lower at 7,532.01, and the S&P 500 decreased 37.81 points (1.37%) to 2,717.07. The Russell 2000 was down 28.07 points (1.67%) at 1,657.51, and the Wilshire 5000 fell 421.25 points (1.46%) to 28,406.42.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note was up 6/32, decreasing its yield to 2.875%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond increased 7/32, bringing its yield down to 3.027%.

ON THIS DATE: In 1819, the bicycle was patented by W.K. Clarkson, Jr. In 1900, the United States announced that it would send troops to fight against the Boxer rebellion in China. In 1900, a commission that included Dr. Walter Reed began the fight against the deadly disease yellow fever. In 1927, the Coney Island Cyclone roller coaster opened in New York. In 1945, in San Francisco, the U.N. Charter was signed by 50 nations. In 1948, the Berlin Airlift began as the U.S., Britain and France started ferrying supplies to the isolated western sector of Berlin. In 1959, President Dwight Eisenhower joined Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in ceremonies officially opening the St. Lawrence Seaway. In 1974, in Troy, Ohio, a Marsh supermarket installed the first bar code scanning equipment, made by IBM, and a product with a bar code was scanned for the first time. In 1979, Muhammad Ali, at 37 years old, announced that he was retiring as world heavyweight boxing champion. In 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Virginia Military Institute to admit women or forgo state support. In 2000, the Human Genome Project and Celera Genomics Corp. jointly announced that they had created a working draft of the human genome. In 2002, WorldCom Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.