U.S. Stocks Get A Bounce After New Home Sales Rebound
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Wall Street on Thursday shifted higher on an unexpected rebound in the sale of new homes offset other bearish indicators that had dimmed cheer over profit reports including Motorola Inc.'s better-than-expected outlook for the fourth quarter.
Down more than 30 points ahead of the latest economic data, the Dow Industrial Average was more recently ahead 39.8 points at 13,7151, with 21 of its 30 components trading higher.
The S&P 500 rose 5.54 points to 1,521.42, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 6.04 points to 2,780.80.
The gains follow the Commerce Department's report that sales of new homes increased 4.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 770,000 from a revised 735,000 in August. Previously, August sales were reported at a 758,000 pace.
The move higher came in a volatile session, which had stock futures tilting higher ahead of Thursday's opening bell, but trimmed their gains after the release of two earlier pieces of economic data. Stock investors seemed to brush aside the largely bearish figures in favor on corporate news.
"Equities remained focused on better earnings reports, though dented by the weaker-than-expected round of durables and jobless-claims data," said analysts at Action Economics.
The Commerce Department reported a second monthly decline in orders for durable goods, which fell 1.7% in September instead of the 1.1% rise anticipated by analysts. .
At the same time, the Labor Department reported the average count of Americans filing for first-time jobless benefits during the past four weeks hit 324,750 last week, its highest level in seven weeks.
At 10 a.m., the Commerce Department will report on the sales of new homes in September.
The data release will follow an 8% drop in the sale of existing homes reported last month, with the numbers confirming ongoing weakness in the housing market, and no clear end in sight. .
Stocks on Wednesday trimmed their losses late in the day amid talk of an emergency Fed discount rate cut, said Action Economics analysts and others.
Early on, market sentiment was bolstered by Motorola's outlook, along with EMC Corp. reporting a 77% rise in third-quarter profits.
In early trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery gained $6.00 to $771.60 an ounce, after rising $2.50 to $765.60 an ounce at Wednesday's close.
Crude-oil futures advanced $1.34 to $88.44.
Asian indexes were mixed, with Shanghai-listed stocks dropping sharply as strong economic growth data raised concerns that China's central bank may further tighten monetary policy.
By Kate Gibson