Wall Street Opens 242 Points Lower Amid Weak Housing Prices

August 26, 2008 10:20 a.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - U.S. markets opened lower Tuesday, the Dow down 241 points at 11,386. The downward start comes after the big board closed off 242 points Monday.

A new report Tuesday indicated home prices dropped more than 15 percent during the second quarter of the year. Later this morning, the Commerce Department releases new home sales for July.

Analysts are also predicting consumer confidence will have risen slightly during August.

After Monday's sell-off, at 10 a.m. Eastern, the broader Standard and Poor's 500 is up slightly, gaining 2.43 points at 1,269.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is up 3 points at 2,369.

Crude oil prices are flat, standing at $115.11 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold was off, dropping $1.70 to $824 an ounce.