Orders for US manufactured durable goods fell 2.8% in July, the Commerce Department said, a smaller decline than the 3.8% drop economists expected after June’s revised 9.4% slide. Excluding the volatile transportation category, orders rose 1.1%, while bookings for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft— a proxy for business investment— also advanced 1.1%. Shipments of that core equipment category climbed 0.7%, the strongest monthly gain since April 2023, suggesting businesses continued to spend on productivity-enhancing items despite the headline fall. Housing data pointed to a cooling but still firm market. The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index dipped 0.2% in June, matching May’s pace, leaving prices up 1.7% from a year earlier. Separately, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city composite slipped 0.25% in June, its fourth monthly decline in the past five, and annual growth slowed to 2.14%, the weakest since July 2023. The nationwide Case-Shiller measure showed prices up 1.89% on the year.