Positive News in both Banking and Housing Leaves U.S. Markets Mixed (SKS, AAPL)

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) released the results of its second quarter survey of the national banking system today. The report (which you can read in its entirety here) has some good news, including the fact that quarterly earnings at banks are the highest they’ve been in almost three years. In addition, the number of loans and leases that are 90 or more days past due has fallen by 4.8 percent which is the first time this number has declined in about 4 years.

The second quarter 2010 data from the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index indicates that home prices rose 3.6 percent year-over-year. The report announcing this data cautions that there are still “ominous signals” about the housing crisis recovery since last year’s tax incentives ended. To see the data, you can visit the website.

U.S. markets had a bumpy ride today and ended the day mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.4 points to 10,013.13. The S&P 500 rose .40  points to 1,049.32 and the Nasdaq dropped 5.94 points to 2,114.03.

European markets were up today while Asian markets were down with Japan’s Nikkei falling to 8,824.06—the lowest it’s been since it closed at 8,493.77 in April 2009.

Stocks in the news: Saks Inc (NYSE: SKS), Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL).