Home price index helps stocks eke out gains
Specialist Christopher Carella on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday. Stocks Tuesday were down, mostly on anxiety over the debt crisis in Europe. (June 25, 2012) Credit: AP
Home builders led stocks up Tuesday, helping major indexes recoup some losses from the day before. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. surged after the media conglomerate said it may split into two companies.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 32.01 points to close at 12,534.67.
PulteGroup, Lennar and other housing stocks climbed following news that a measure of national home prices rose 1.3 percent in April, the first increase in seven months. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index showed a rise in 19 out of the 20 major cities tracked; Detroit was the only city where prices fell.
PulteGroup rose 49 cents to $9.72, and Lennar rose 81 cents to $27.39.
In other trading, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 0.48 percent to close at 1,319.99. The Nasdaq composite index rose 0.63 percent to close at 2,854.06.
More worrisome developments in Europe kept U.S. markets in check. Spain's borrowing costs jumped in a pair of short-term debt auctions, the latest sign that investors are hesitant to lend the country money. The interest rate on the country's three-month bills was 2.36 percent Tuesday, nearly triple the rate in the last such auction in May.-- AP
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After 47 years, affordable housing ... Let's Go: Williamsburg winter village ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
