Wall Street fluctuating

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) are trading sideways on news of conflicting economic reports and credit worries.

At 10:48 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 was down 7.14 points, or 0.92%, to 768.98. The Dow had shed 52.44 points, or 0.40%, to 13,159.65.

An index of pending home resales surprisingly added 5% in June following a 3.7% decline in May, the National Association of Realtors reported after the opening bell.

That’s a sign that the U.S. housing sector may be stabilizing.

Separately, the Institute for Supply Management’s factory index dropped to 53.8 in June, below the forecast 55.5. The index stood at 56 in May. Still, a reading above 50 is a sign of expansion, suggesting that strong global economic growth is driving demand for U.S. manufactured goods.

The indices opened with brief gains but quickly slipped into negative territory following renewed concerns about loans and securities derived from home mortgages. Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. (NYSE: BSC) triggered the selling after it said that it will prevent investors from pulling their money out of a troubled hedge fund that had bet on securities backed by subprime mortgages.

The following are the most actively traded company's with market capitalizations under $500 million:

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