Dow Shows Huge Gains: Acadiana Business Index

Wall Street surges, driven by news headlines from the Commerce Department, which said home construction increased last month. Mark Lasseigne has your market report on today's Acadiana Business Index.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 337 points to 12,104.

• Data from the Commerce Department, showed a 25% increase in multi-family homes, such as apartments, a volatile part of the market. Construction of single-family homes, which makes up about 65% of the market, rose only 2.3%. 

• Stocks of home builders and apartment operators gained following the news. Beazer jumped 15%, Lennar rose 6.3% and Toll Brothers advanced 6.4%.

• Light, sweet crude closed at $97.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

• And gold settled at $1,618 an ounce.

• Trading volume was again light as many professional investors are closing their books prior to year-end and ahead of the holidays.