The number of contracts to purchase US second-hand house unexpectedly rose in July, signalling the market may be starting to stabilize after a plunge in the aftermath of the expiration of a homebuyer tax credit last April. US retailers in August reported a back-to-school bounce but at the expense of big discounts and new weekly jobless benefit claims fell 6,000 last week.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator, rose 5.2% to 79.4 based on contracts signed in July from a downwardly revised 75.5 in June, but remains 19.1% below July 2009 when it was 98.1. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.

Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors chief economist, cautioned that there would be a long recovery process. “Home sales will remain soft in the months ahead, but improved affordability conditions should help with a recovery,” he said. “But the recovery looks to be a long process. Home buyers over the past year got a great deal, and buyers for the balance of this year have an edge over sellers. For those who bought at or near the peak several years ago, particularly in markets experiencing big bubbles, it may take over a decade to fully recover lost equity.”

US retailers

US retailers in August reported a back-to-school bounce but at the expense of big discounts.

Retailers reported a 3.3% increase in revenue at retail stores open at least a year, according to a summary of 27 retailers by Thomson Reuters. A 3% increase and above “represents a healthy U.S. consumer,” said Jharonne Martis, director of consumer research for Thomson Reuters.

The August increase is compared with a month a year ago in which sales dipped 2.8%.

Major retailers report same-store sales, with Dana Telsey, CEO of Telsey Advisory Group:

Jobless benefit claims

The Department of Labor reported today that in the week ending Aug. 28th, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 472,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 478,000. The 4-week moving average was 485,500, a decrease of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average of 488,000.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Aug. 21 was 4,456,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,479,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,485,250, a decrease of 28,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,513,750.

The monthly employment report fro august will be published Friday.

Insight on the latest employment data, with CNBC's Rick Santelli and the "Squawk Box" team:

US Factory Orders

US Factory Orders rose slightly in July as a jump in demand for commercial aircraft helped offset widespread weakness in other areas.

Factory orders gained 0.1%, the first increase after two months of falls, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Excluding transportation, orders were down 1.5% the biggest drop in this category in 16 months.