Briefly

* Existing U.S. home sales hit a record high last month, defying expectations of a modest slowing trend in 2005. Single-family home sales rose 4.5% in April from the same month last year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.28 million.

* Rates on 30-year mortgages declined for the seventh time in the last eight weeks. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday in its weekly survey that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.65%, down from 5.71% last week. The decline pushed the 30-year mortgage down to the lowest level since mid-February.