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By STAN CHOE, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes are edging lower on Thursday as Wall Street makes its final moves before the head of the Federal Reserve gives a highly anticipated speech on Friday that could hint at where interest rates are going.

The S&P 500 dipped 0.2% following four straight modest loss since it set an all-time high last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 101 points, or 0.2%, as of 10:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower.

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Walmart was one of the market’s biggest movers and fell 4.4% after reporting a profit for the spring that came up short of analysts’ expectations, while Big Tech stocks were holding a bit steadier following two days of sharp swings. read more

By ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press Business Writer

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in July as homebuyers were encouraged by a modest pullback in mortgage rates, slowing home price growth and the most properties on the market in over five years.

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Existing home sales rose 2% last month from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.01 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.

Sales edged up 0.8% compared with July last year. The latest sales figure topped the 3.92 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

Home prices rose on an annual basis for the 25th consecutive month, although the rate of growth continued to slow. The national median sales price inched up just 0.2% in July from a year earlier to $422,400. read more

By Brian Baker, CFA, Bankrate.com

Making the decision to start investing is one of the best decisions you can make. Investing is an important step toward building wealth and achieving your financial goals. However, successful investing can be difficult and there are some key mistakes you’ll want to avoid.

Here are the top seven investment mistakes beginners make when they start investing.

1. Waiting to get started investing

There can be a lot of reasons not to start investing, especially when you’re early in your career. You may be starting with a relatively low salary, and you may not have a lot of extra savings each month to invest. But saving and investing whatever you can, even if it’s small, when you’re young will set you up for success down the road.

Money you invest in your 20s has more time to compound and grow than money you invest later on when you’re closer to retirement age. A $1,000 investment when you’re 22 years old that grows at 10% annually will be worth a little more than $45,250 when you’re age 62. If you wait 10 years to invest at age 32, that $1,000 turns into just $17,450 at age 62. Those first 10 years are important for compounding wealth. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, Associated Press Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just three weeks ago, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke to reporters after the central bank had kept its key interest rate unchanged for a fifth straight meeting and said the job market was “solid.”

His assessment was important because if the job market is healthy, there is less need for the Fed to cut its key interest rate, as President Donald Trump has demanded. Two days later, the Labor Department issued a report that cast doubt on that assessment, showing hiring was weak in July and much lower than previously estimated in May and June.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Sony has raised the price of its PlayStation 5 consoles being sold in the United States by $50.

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“Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment,” Sony Global Marketing Vice President Isabelle Tomatis wrote in a blog post. “As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S. starting on August 21.”

The price change affects the standard Playstation 5, the Digital Edition and the Pro. According to Sony, prices for games and accessories remain unchanged and that this round of increases only affects consoles sold in the U.S. read more