NEW YORK (AP) – The stock market zigzagged after reports on factory orders and housing gave mixed signals about the economy.

The modest moves Tuesday came a day after the Dow Jones industrials soared more than 150 points on upbeat manufacturing reports in the U.S. and China.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that factory orders rose by more than twice what had been expected, reflecting demand in the steel, computers and chemical industries. Sales rose by 1.1 percent in November. Economists had forecast an increase of 0.5 percent, according to a Thomson Reuters survey.

Meanwhile, the number of buyers who agreed to purchase previously occupied homes fell sharply in November, an indication that sales will fall this winter. The National Association of Realtors’ said its seasonally adjusted index of pending home sales fell 16 percent to a level of 96. It was the first drop after nine months of gains and the lowest reading since June.

Investors reacted coolly to the reports. The Dow industrials fell 28.72, or 0.3 percent, to 10,555.24. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.25, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,133.24, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 0.89, or less than 0.1 percent, to 2,307.53.

Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.77 percent from 3.83 percent late Monday.

The dollar mostly fell against other major currencies, while gold prices rose. Crude oil rose 16 cents to $81.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Augstums reported from Charlotte, N.C.

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