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“I’m in the skeptical camp,” said Art Cashin, director of floor operations at UBS Financial Services. “While, it’s dangerous to be short in this market because they keep coming back to you, the market rally is a little long in the tooth."
On the economic front, pending home sales gained 2 percent to 97.0, surging to a nearly two-year high in January, according to the National Association of Realtors. Homebuilders Lennar and Toll Brothers gained following the report.
European shares slumped after members of the Group of 20 leading economies told Europe it must raise extra funds to combat the ongoing debt crisis if it wants more aid from the rest of the world, adding pressure to Germany to drop its opposition to a bigger European bailout.
Meanwhile, German lawmakers approved a second loan package for Greece even after Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier warned that there was no guarantee the 130 billion ($175 billion) rescue program for the debt-ridden country would succeed.
The euro eased against the U.S. greenback, but strategists believe further gains are possible ahead of the ECB's second offering of unlimited 3-year loans to banks in a longer term refinancing operation (LTRO) on Wednesday.
"The LTRO at mid-week is a bit of a puzzlement because we don't know if a big number is good or not," said Cashin.
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BZH News & Analysis
Dow, S&P 500 Close at Fresh Highs; AAPL Slumps 3%, GOOG Ends Above $900 - 15 May 2013 EDT - CNBC.COM
DATA IS REAL-TIME EXCEPT NOTED WITH *
* DATA DELAYED AT LEAST 15 MINUTES