By STAN CHOE and DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writers
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting Friday following another set of mixed reports on the economy. The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in midday trading after earlier flipping between small gains and losses. Trading was relatively quiet across markets, with stocks overseas, Treasury yields and gold also making only modest moves. The S&P 500 was nearly evenly split between stocks rising and falling. Home builders rose after a better-than-expected report on housing, but tech stocks pulled back in their latest move of weakness following their huge run this year. The S&P 500 is on track for a gain of nearly 1% this week.

By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s unemployment slid a bit down in June after hitting a pandemic peak in April, but it was well above the national rate even as payrolls rebounded by more 230,000. The state Department of Labor and Industry reported Friday that Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 13% in June, down four-tenths of a percentage point from May’s adjusted rate. The state’s rate went over 16% in April, the highest rate in over four decades of record-keeping. A survey of employers showed seasonally adjusted nonfarm payrolls grew by more than 230,000 in June to surpass 5.4 million. That was about 1 in 5 jobs lost during the pandemic.

 

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve has opened one of its lending programs to nonprofit groups, including hospitals, educational institutions, and social service organizations. The Fed said Friday that its Main Street Lending Program, which is targeted to mid-sized businesses, will now extend credit to nonprofits with at least 10 employees and endowments of less than $3 billion.

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Construction of U.S. homes jumped 17.3% in June as some states opened back up, but still lags behind last year’s pace after this spring’s massive slowdown in building activity due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Commerce Department reported Friday that new homes were started at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,186,000 in June after a modest recovery in May followed steep declines in April and March. Even after a second straight month of increases, construction activity remains 4% below last year’s pace. Applications for building permits, a good indication of future activity, rose 2.1% to 1.24 million units.