Bouncing back from the modest decline yesterday, the REIT ETFs (VNQ and IYR) rallied 0.9%, continuing a stretch of strong performance so far in 2019. Shopping center, office, industrial, and net lease REITs led the way as the 10-Year yield dipped another 5 basis points to close near one-year lows. The S&P 500 dipped 1.0% while the Nasdaq dipped 1.3%

Homebuilders (XHB and ITB), Mortgage Lenders and Residential REITs were the strongest performing sectors of the Hoya Capital Housing Index on the day. The big news of the day was the merger announcement between SunTrust Bank (STI) and fellow Housing 100 Index component BB&T (BBT). Masco (MAS), NVR (NVR), and KB Homes (KBH) each gained more than 2.5% on the day.

Home Furnishings was the weakest performing housing industry sector on the day, dragged down by Restoration Hardware (RH) and Overstock (OSTK) which each fell more than 3.5% on the day. Wayfair (W) and Tempur Sealy (TPX) were also down more than 1.5% on the day.