U.S. stocks mostly shed gains Wednesday after the U.S. Commerce Department said sales of new single-family homes fell 8.4% in June to a level that was short of forecasts. Stocks had jumped early as investors bought up beaten-down shares on positive forecasts from Caterpillar Inc. and Boeing Co. , and after comments from a European Central Bank official on Europe's rescue fund helped sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently up 46 points, or 0.4%, to 12,662. The S&P 500 was off 2 points, or 0.1%, to 1,336. The Nasdaq Composite fell 11 points, or 0.4%, to 2,852.

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