Latest signs of housing rebound send stocks higher
NEW YORK (AP) - The latest signs of a rebound in housing are sending stocks sharply higher on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped nearly 116 points to end at 13,900 Tuesday, led by a 6 percent surge in Home Depot. The country's biggest home improvement store chain reported a big increase in earnings.
In another sign that the housing market was gaining steam, the government reported that sales of new homes jumped 16 percent last month to the highest level since July 2008.
That sent the stocks of homebuilders higher. Hovnanian jumped 11 percent.
The Standard & Poor's 500 rose nine points to 1,496. The Nasdaq rose 13 to 3,129.
Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was average at 3.8 billion shares.