12:20 PM EDT, 09/25/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes traded mixed midday Wednesday as investors weighed the housing market data amid a surge in gold prices to a fresh record high intraday.

The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% to 5,729.2, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to 41,987.6, after scaling new peaks earlier in the session. The Nasdaq Composite climbed less than 0.1% to 18,079.8. Technology led the gainers, while healthcare and energy were the steepest decliners.

In economic news, mortgage applications surged 11% during the week ended Sept. 20 to their highest since July 2022, boosted by an eighth weekly drop in mortgage rates, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. Applications for refinancing loans soared 20% from the previous week, while new purchase applications increased by a seasonally adjusted 1%.

Meanwhile, US new-home sales fell to a 716,000 annual rate in August from an upwardly revised 751,000 rate in July, compared with the 700,000 rate expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Home sales were still up 9.8% from a year ago. The supply of homes for sale rose 1.7% to 467,000, up 9.1% from a year ago.

Most US Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year yield up 3.7 basis points to 3.77%. The two-year rate advanced 2.5 basis points to 3.55%.

Gold rose 0.2% to $2,683 an ounce, after touching a new intraday high of 2,694.8999. Silver was down 0.7% to $32.2.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 1.9% to $70.12 a barrel.

In company news, Barclays upgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) to overweight from equal-weight while adjusting its price target to $24 from $20. Shares of the technology giant were trading up 5% intraday, the top performer on the S&P 500.