Stocks traded lower last week as a stream of downbeat news rekindled concerns about the global recovery, highlighted by disappointing reports for jobless claims and the housing industry.

The Dow fell 77.09 points, or 0.7%, to close at 10,325.26, the S&P slipped 4.68 points, or 0.4%, ending at 1,104.49, and the NASDAQ declined by 5.61 points, or 0.3%, to close at 2,238.26.

The weekly report of the number of initial claims filed for the week ending February 20 showed an increase of 22K claims to a seasonally adjusted rate of 496K. The unexpected gain in filings came in well ahead of the predicted decrease in claims of 455K. In addition, those continuing to receive benefits remained relatively unchanged at 4.6M.

As the housing industry continues to struggle, sales of new homes retreated to a new record low in January. Sales dropped 11.2% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 309K units. The recent decline brought new home sales to its lowest reading in more than 25 years. Economists were looking for new home sales to increase by 5%.

With huge declines throughout the U.S., the only region to post a gain in home sales was the Midwest, where sales increased by 2.1%. The decrease in sales pushed the median selling price for homes down to just over $203K. That figure comes in 5.6% lower than December’s price of more than $215K per house, while remaining 2.4% off last year’s prices.

For 2009, new home sales plummeted nearly 23% to 374K units, marking the worst year on record. Analysts within the industry predict new home sales to eclipse the 500K mark in 2010, albeit well below the record pace set between 2003 and 2006 when annual sales were well above 1M units per year.

Meanwhile, the number of previously owned homes that were sold throughout January slipped 7.2% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.05M units. The recent reading marked the second straight month of hefty declines, falling to its lowest level since last summer. Economists were predicting existing home sales would increase at a pace of 5.5M units. The median home price remained unchanged from a year ago, as it sits just under $165K and is down 3.4% from December’s prices.

Another report pertaining to the housing industry came from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which revealed that home prices fell 1.6% across the board in December. For 2009, sales slipped 1.5% on a national basis, despite several regions throughout the U.S. posting increases for the first time in several months.

On the bright side, as factories begin to rebuild inventories of goods for businesses that had let their stockpiles dwindle to save cash, orders for durable goods skyrocketed in January by 3%. That was the largest increase since a 5.8% surge last July. The increase in orders came primarily from strong demand for commercial aircraft, which posted a 126% gain. Excluding transportation, durable orders declined by 0.6%, a weaker showing than what economists had anticipated.

Also, the U.S. economy propelled itself forward at a 5.9% clip in Q4 of 2009, stronger than 5.7% growth that was initially estimated. The current reading marked the strongest expansion in more than six years. The growth was attributed to an 18.2% surge in equipment and software spending, while exports posted a 22.4% surge, its highest rate in more than 13 years.

For the current year, analysts believe that the economy will expand at a 3.1% pace. That would be a much-improved showing over 2009’s results, in which the economy contracted at a 2.4% clip, its worst showing since 1946.

A report from the Office of Thrift Supervision revealed the country’s thrifts, also known as savings and loans, posted a $29M profit in 2009. That is a welcomed sign, especially after recording consecutive losses of $15.9B and $649M in 2008 and 2007 respectively. It was the industry’s first profit since 2006.

The week ahead features the Unemployment report for February which is due out on Friday. Personal Income, Personal Spending, Core PCE Prices, Construction Spending, Factory Orders, Pending Home Sales and Consumer Credit reports for January are due out as well, along with the ISM Index, Auto/Truck Sales, Challenger Job Cuts, ADP Employment Change, ISM Services, Unit Labor Costs, revised Productivity reports for Q4, weekly results for Initial Claims and Crude Inventories, and the Fed’s Beige Book reading for March.