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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Stocks were little changed Wednesday, as investors parsed through mixed housing reports.
Investors have been cautious over the past week or so as they watch central banks around the world do what they can to fuel economic growth. And housing is a big part of the recovery story.
The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq traded on either side of breakeven.
A stronger-than-expected report on existing home sales helped offset worries over a report showing housing starts grew at a slower pace than expected in August, and building permits dipped.
Housing stocks moved higher after the existing home sales report. Shares of home improvement retailers like Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500) and Lowe's (LOW, Fortune 500), as well as home builders PulteGroup (PHA), Lennar (LEN) and KB Home (KBH) gained between 1.5% and 2.6%.
Before the U.S. markets opened, the Bank of Japan said it would expand its asset purchase program by ¥10 trillion to about ¥80 trillion to boost its slowing economy.
The news pushed Asian stocks higher. The Shanghai Composite ended up 0.4%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong and Japan's Nikkei each gained 1.2%.
Central bankers around the world have been stepping up their stimulus plans to help fuel the global economy. Just last week, the Federal Reserve said it would buy $40 billion worth of mortgage backed securities a month. That came after the European Central Bank revealed its new bond-buying program.
All of those moves have pushed up the euro to a five-month high against the U.S. dollar. The yen initially rallied on the back of Japan's central bank announcement. And gold prices, used as a hedge against inflation, soared to a nearly seven-month high on the BoJ announcement, before pulling back after the housing report.
Oil prices traded to the lowest levels in more than a month, falling to $93 a barrel after being close to $100 just a week ago.
Related: Bank of Japan announces new stimulus
European stocks also initially popped on the BoJ news, but ongoing worries about Europe's debt crisis muted the enthusiasm.
Britain's FTSE 100, France's CAC 40 and the DAX in Germany edged 0.1% higher.
Fear & Greed Index
Companies: General Mills (GIS, Fortune 500)shares rose 2% after the food producer reported quarterly earnings of 66 cents per share, slightly beating expectations.
AutoZone (AZO, Fortune 500) reported better-than-expected earnings but same-store sales fell below forecasts, pushing the company's stock 4% lower.
Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY, Fortune 500) will report after the close.
Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) shares rose 1%, after the company announced Tuesday that it would return to shareholders most of the proceeds from selling a portion of its stake in China's Alibaba.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, pushing the yield down to 1.77% from 1.81% late Tuesday. 
First Published: September 19, 2012: 9:58 AM ET
19 Sep, 2012
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Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/money_news_international/~3/0hUaJ6cdRr0/index.html
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