REFILE-US STOCKS-Wall St dips on weak housing, durables data

(Fixes story link in paragraph 5)

* New-home sales tumble to record low in July

* U.S. durable goods orders rise less than expected

* Natural gas price tumbles, hurting coal miners

* Dow off 0.4 pct, S&P down 0.5 pct, Nasdaq off 0.2 pct

* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US] (Updates to midday, changes byline)

By Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as weak data on U.S. housing and orders for long-lasting manufactured goods underscored the prospect of a sharp economic slowdown.

But a rebound off an S&P 500 index technical support level after five days of broad declines helped to buffer losses.

Energy shares led losses on the S&P 500 as coal miners stocks dropped on concerns that power plants would switch to natural gas from coal as the price of gas fell to a three-month low. For details, see [ID:nN25136250].

Massey Energy MEE.N tumbled 4.2 percent to $28.89 and Arch Coal Inc (ACI.N) dropped 3.7 percent to $21.59.

Adding to a string of weak data, new U.S. single-family home sales slumped to a record slow pace in July while orders for costly durable goods, like washing machines and airplanes, rose far less than anticipated, according to government reports. [ID:nN25121445].

Data from an industry group on Tuesday had shown an unexpectedly large drop in existing-home sales. [ID:nN25127128].

"New home sales was below consensus estimates, but after yesterday's (home resales) number it wasn't so much of a surprise," said Paul Hickey, co-founder of research firm Bespoke Investment Group in Harrison, New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dipped 44.04 points, or 0.44 percent, to 9,996.41. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX dropped 5.52 points, or 0.52 percent, to 1,046.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC fell 4.23 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,119.53.

The S&P 500 found support at 1,040, a level closely watched by chartists. The benchmark index hit lows in the 1,040 area in February, May and early June, indicating some investors may see a dip below it as a buying opportunity.

"At a level like 1,040, where a lot of people are watching, you're going to get a little bit of a bounce," Hickey said.

Bank stocks continued their slide on the weak housing data. The KBW bank index .BKX briefly hit 42.70, its lowest level in 2010. Wells Fargo (WFC.N) dropped 2.1 percent to $23.14.

Healthcare stocks, among the least sensitive to economy swings, outperformed the overall market.

Coventry Health Care Inc (CVH.N) gained 4.1 percent to $20.18 and the S&P health stocks sector .GSPA added 0.6 percent.

Both luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc (TOL.N) and apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters Inc (AEO.N) rallied after reporting quarterly results. Toll gained 4.1 percent to $16.86 while American Eagle was up 6.8 percent at $13.34. [ID:nSGE67O0GI] [ID:nN25116657]. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Kenneth Barry)