New Home Sales Tick Higher – Acadiana Business Index

The markets held their gains into the closing bell. Ken Meyers has your stock market report on the Acadiana Business Index.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 100 points at 14,760, the S&P 500 was up almost 15 points to 1588 and the NASDAQ gained 17 points with the index at 3347.
• Stocks managed to pare some of their recent declines on the heels of several positive economic reports.
• Looking at the data, May durable goods orders and June consumer confidence increased more than expected. Housing data was also positive as new home sales ticked higher in May and the Case-Shiller index showed a 1.7% increase in April home prices.
• All 10 sectors on the S&P are higher led by a rally in financials of more than 2%. Shares of Bank of America led the space, up 3% to $12.67. On the earnings front, Lennar gained 0.7% to $35.23 after posting a better-than-expected profit tally. On the downside, Walgreen’s gave up 5.9% to $45.21 as the company fell short of analysts’ estimates.
• In other news, Pandora Media gained 8.5% to $16.41 after the company announced that its streaming radio service would be featured in 100 new vehicle models.
• Composite volume on the NYSE was 3.6 billion shares with advancing issues besting decliners by a 4-1 margin. The NADSAQ was 5-2 positive on issues.
• Turning to fixed income markets, Treasuries were lower along the curve. The benchmark 10-year note was down 17/32 to yield 2.61% and the 30-year bond was off over a full point to yield 3.63%.

For the complete economic report, click Ken's Market Report.