Wall Street continues rally on housing news
Signs of strength in the housing market pushed the Dow Jones industrial average to its second straight gain of more than 100 points.
An increase in the number of people with contracts to buy homes and the first profit at home builder D.R. Horton in three years raised hopes that one of the weakest parts of the economy is improving.
The Dow rose 111.32 points, or 1.1 percent, to 10,296.85 points Tuesday, boosting its two-day gain to 230 points and extending a recovery from a slide in January. It was the biggest back-to-back advance for the Dow in three months.
The National Association of Realtors, a trade group, said its index of sale contracts rose 1 percent in December. It was the ninth improvement over the past 10 months.
The Dow's two-day climb of 229.52, or 2.3 percent, is the biggest point and percentage gain since Nov. 4-5. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 14.14, or 1.3 percent, to 1,103.32 Tuesday, while the Nasdaq composite index advanced 18.86, or 0.9 percent, to 2,190.06. - AP
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Updated 55 minutes ago Suozzi visits ICE 'hold rooms' ... U.S. cuts child vaccines ... Coram apartment fire ... Out East: Custer Institute and Observatory
