Summary: Stocks were mixed in cautious trading after the U.K. invoked the first step in its removal from the EU, a relationship that has lasted more than four decades. Financials weighed on the Dow, while tech boosted the Nasdaq. Pending home sales rose far faster than analysts anticipated, climbing to its highest level in almost a year. Pending home sales measures deals in which an agreement has been made but a contract not yet signed. Crude oil prices rose after the Energy Information Administration reported an increase of 900,000 barrels of oil to domestic inventories over the past week. Analysts had expected a higher increase after the American Petroleum Institute showed a nearly two-million-barrel rise. Morgan Stanley was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank. The firm is optimistic about capital markets and an improvement in trading.
