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8B – Daily News – Wednesday, August 25, 2010 NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell for a fourth day after another disappointing report on housing deepened worries that the economic recovery could be fading. Bonds yields fell as investors sought out more stable investments. The Dow Jones industri- al average lost 134 points Tuesday following news Stocks drop after sharp fall in July home sales Wall Street that sales of previously occupied homes fell last month to their lowest level in 15 years. The 27 percent drop from the previous month was the biggest since record-keeping began in 1968. The Dow dipped briefly below 10,000 for the first time in seven weeks and has now lost 375 points since its four-day slump began last Thursday. The yield on the two-year Trea- sury note reached another record low as cautious investors piled back into the bond market. The National Associa- tion of Realtors said sales of previously occupied homes plunged in July to an annu- al rate of 3.83 million, much worse than the 4.7 million estimate from economists polled by Thomson Reuters. Home sales have fallen sharply since a homebuyer tax credit expired at the end of April, despite mortgage rates reaching record lows. A stubbornly high unem- ployment rate of 9.5 percent has been keeping home sales down, and banks have also been cautious in mak- ing new loans. ‘‘Without a boost in job creation, (buyers) just won’t have the confidence to step in and buy a new home,’’ David Katz, principal at Weiser Capital Manage- ment said. Other world markets also fell. Japanese stocks led the way lower, falling more than 1 percent as the yen hit a fresh 15-year high against the dollar. Japan’s economy relies heavily on exports, so a stronger yen hurts the profits of major Japanese companies. Stocks have been sliding in recent days as investors focus on signs that econom- ic growth is slowing. A new wave of corporate dealmak- ing gave stocks a temporary boost Monday, but those gains quickly faded. According to prelimi- nary calculations, the Dow fell 133.96, or 1.3 percent, to 10,040.45 The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 15.49, or 1.5 percent, to 1,051.87, while the Nasdaq fell 35.87, or 1.7 percent, to 2,123.76. Three stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.2 billion shares. Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 1.3 percent after worries about the high yen hit share prices there. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 1.5 percent, Germany’s DAX index dropped 1.3 percent, and France’s CAC-40 fell 1.8 percent. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite to its price, fell to 2.50 percent from 2.60 per- cent late Monday. That yield helps set interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans. The 10-year note’s yield continues to hover around levels not reached since March 2009, when the stock market hit a 12-year low and investors were con- cerned about the deepening recession. The yield on the two-year note went as low as 0.46 percent, another in a series of record lows. Stock traders are ‘‘taking their cues from the bond market,’’ said Lawrence Glazer, a managing partner at Mayflower Advisors. ‘‘It really has been a dramatic and frightening shift’’ in Treasury prices, which has spooked investors and led to worries about another reces- sion, Glazer said. Reports due out later in the week will also provide insight into the health of the economy. Data on new home sales, durable goods orders, weekly jobless claims and consumer senti- ment are scheduled for later in the week. The government will also release a revised report on second-quarter gross domestic product.