On Friday, US equities erased early losses and made gains.br S&P 500 closing at a record high following positive economic data.br Existing home sales surged a record 24.7 in July to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.86 million.br Business Insider reports that economists expected a reading of 5.41 million.br Apple led tech stocks higher and posted a record high ahead of its end-of-month stock split.br Oil sank before retracing some losses. West Texas Intermediate crude fell as much as 2.6, to $41.46 per barrel.