Late Market Roundup

After seesawing in early trading, gold futures strengthened today as its safe-haven status provided a degree of support for the metal. Gold for August delivery moved up 0.2% to $1,226.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). According to the analysts at Barclays Capital, "For the past week or so, the market has been trading in a narrow range of around $1,220, on one hand supported by lingering worries over sovereign debt issues and on the other lacking fresh momentum to break significantly on the upside." According to the data gained through National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) monthly survey, US home builders have become more pessimistic in June, following the expiry of a tax break for home buyers. The housing market index moved to 17 in June, as compared to 22 in May. According to Gary Bigg, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, "The recovery in home building will be slow due to the elevated level of unemployment, tight credit conditions, high rates of homeowner and rental vacancy rates and the high level of homes available for sale." Shares of Continental Airlines CAL gained more than 5% after the company announced that it is expecting $3.5 billion in unrestricted cash and investments by Q2. Chief Financial Officer Zane Rowe says, "That's our highest end-of-quarter cash balance ever." The wider industry along with CAL is getting benefited due to the sharp cuts in seat capacity during the recession. Shares of Apple Inc AAPL moved up around 1.6% after the company disclosed a new Mac Mini desktop computer with a base price of $699. The machine comprises of more capabilities, with two fold improvement in graphic performance from the earlier version. Apple calls this Mac Mini "the world's most energy-efficient desktop,” which is 7.7 inches square in width and 1.4 inches in thickness. According to analyst Shaw Wu of Kaufman Bros, "This is the most significant form factor change for the Mac mini since it was introduced in January 2005." Read more from Benzinga's Markets.