国际英语新闻：Wall Street dips, dollar falls on weak economic data

NEW YORK, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street dipped on Tuesday as the latest earnings and economic data failed to impress investors.

The Commerce Department reported that personal spending and incomes were flat in June, while the personal savings rate rose to the highest level in nearly a year.

The lack of growth for spending and incomes added to evidence that U.S. consumers were more reluctant to spend amid high unemployment and an "unusually uncertain" economic outlook.

Meanwhile, another report from the Commerce Department showed factory orders dropped 1.2 percent in June, more than economists had predicted.

Data on housing market continued to disappoint. The National Association of Realtors said pending home sales fell 2.6 percent in June as fewer buyers appeared to be in the market after the expiration of federal tax incentives.

June's figure represented an 18.6-percent drop from the same month a year earlier. Economists had expected a gain of 4 percent.

On earnings front, drug maker Pfizer Inc. stood out with a higher-than-expected profit and revenue. Pfizer's share price surged more than 5 percent.

Shares of consumer products maker Procter & Gamble Co. and Dow Chemical Co. plunged after the companies reported that sales for the second quarter were lower than Wall Street expectations.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 38.00 points, or 0.36 percent, to 10,636.38. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 5. 40 points, or 0.48 percent, to 1,120.46 and the Nasdaq was down 11. 84 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,283.52.

The euro rose against the U.S. dollar in New York markets on Tuesday. The euro traded at 1.3231 dollars as against 1.3170 dollars on Monday.

Due to the weak dollar, crude prices rose above 82 dollars a barrel on Tuesday. Light, sweet crude for September delivery gained 1.21 dollars to settle at 82.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In London, Brent crude settled up 1.86 dollars at 82.68 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.