US stocks mixed

Wall Street pared steep losses today to end narrowly mixed after a surprise drop in new home sales for February triggered further concern that US economic growth is slowing more than expected.

The Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes fell by 3.9% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 848,000. It was the slowest sales pace in nearly seven years and dimmed hopes for a rebound in the troubled housing market.