The government has reported that new home sales rose 4.7 percent in February. The report is encouraging because economists had expected sales to fall.
Recent reports on housing starts and building permits have also topped expectations.
Stocks were already rising Wednesday on a report that demand for big-ticket manufactured goods rose in February rather than fell as economists had predicted. The home sales report added momentum to the buying.
The Dow Jones industrial average is up 160 at 7,820. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 17 at 823, while the Nasdaq composite index is up 35 at 1,552.
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