Chinese and US housing markets show improvement

China's housing market showed signs of improvement in June, according to a report on Wednesday. New home prices in 25 out of the 70 Chinese cities tracked by the government increased in June from the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics reported, up from just six in May. Home prices fell in 21 cities in June, down from 43 in May.

Wednesday also brought more signs of continued recovery in the US housing market. Housing starts rose 6.9 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 760,000 units, the highest since October 2008. However, building permits fell 3.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the broader US economy is continuing to grow, according to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book. "Reports from most of the twelve Federal Reserve districts indicated that overall economic activity continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace in June and early July," the report said.