Plunging new home sales weighed the markets down to a lower close with the Dow slipping 12 points to 16,501. Nasdaq tumbled 34 points to 4,126.

On the upside

Second quarter earnings slipped for Sanmina (Nasdaq: SANM) but the results were better than expected and the company forecast current quarter earnings ahead of estimates.

The final arbitration ruling in Hugoton Royalty Trust's (NYSE: HGT) proceedings against XTO Energy favored Hugoton Royalty Trust.

South Korean cosmetics company LG Household may explore purchasing Elizabeth Arden (Nasdaq: RDEN).

On the downside

Unisys (NYSE: UIS) widened first quarter losses as revenue slipped.

Noranda Aluminum (NYSE: NOR) fell to a greater than expected loss for the first quarter as revenue dropped.

Zix (Nasdaq: ZIXI) reported higher first quarter earnings and revenue but the company forecast current quarter results below expectations.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 10 to 9 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 slipped 4 points to 1875. Bitcoin edged up $0.17 or 0.04% to $483.30.