U.S. stocks extend losses on soft data, falling oil

U.S. stocks traded lower in the morning session Wednesday, as downbeat economic data and the continued decline in oil prices dampened investor sentiment.

By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 125.55 points, or 0.76 percent, to 16,306.23. The S&P 500 decreased 14.20 points, or 0.74 percent, to 1,907.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 30.51 points, or 0.68 percent, to 4,473.07.

U.S. sales of new single-family houses in January 2016 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 494,000, missing market estimates of 520,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

This is 9.2 percent below the revised December rate of 544,000 and is 5.2 percent below the January 2015 estimate of 521,000.

Oil prices kept falling Wednesday, with U.S. oil dropping about 2 percent around midday, after Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said there won't be any production cuts in the country.

On Tuesday, oil prices dived over 4 percent following the previous day's solid gains.

The volatility in oil prices has dominated market sentiment recently. U.S. oil, whose price has tumbled about 19 percent since the beginning of the year, has been traded around 30 U.S. dollars a barrel recently amid persistent worries about a global supply glut.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks suffered big losses as Wall Street digested mixed economic reports amid declining oil prices. Endit