FORD US AUTO SALES FALL 24%, HIT 11-MONTH HIGH

Ford reports a 24% decline in U.S. sales for May, but the auto maker still posts its highest monthly sales since last June. Ford plans to take advantage of the competitors’ woes, announcing a 10,000-vehicle increase in 2Q production.

US STOCKS FLAT ON HOUSING DATA

U.S. stocks trade flat, seesawing between gains and losses, after a report
shows pending sales of existing homes in April posted their largest monthly
increase in eight years. Financial stocks trail the broader market as blue-chip firms announced plans to raise fresh capital. Treasury prices stabilize.

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The recent commodity rally comes down to two factors: a weaker dollar and hopes of an economic rebound, Morgan Stanley says. “If one sees green shoots, one should be long commodities. If one sees future inflationary pressures resulting from excessive fiscal and monetary activism, one should be long commodities. If one sees weakening confidence in the US dollar and the difficulty of US policymakers to sufficiently stimulate the economy without further risk to the dollar, one should be long commodities,” the bank’s commodity researchers say. No surprise that they conclude a slowing in the greenback’s decline is the “biggest near-term risk to commodity prices.”

Stocks built on Monday’s rally in a broad push higher Tuesday as investors digested encouraging housing data, though a rising supply of shares in several Wall Street bellwethers damped financials.

Major indexes seesawed between gains and losses through the day, but major milestones for the year remained in sight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently up 30 points, or 0.4%, to 8751. At its morning high, the blue-chip measure rose about 66 points, almost 11 points above its 2008 close of 8776.39.

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