Stocks Opened Higher with Home Price Leap

U.S. stocks started higher on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounding from a two-month low, as home prices see biggest annual gain in seven years. The Dow industrials lately rose 89.69 points, or 0.61%, to 14,749.25. The S&P 500 index added 11.57 points, or 0.74%, to 1,584.66. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 25.15 points, or 0.76%, to 3,345.91.

U.S. single-family home prices jumped in April, racking up their biggest annual gain in seven years in a sign of the growing momentum in the housing recovery, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday. The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas gained 1.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, topping forecasts for 1.2 percent.

Business orders for big-ticket goods rose a sharp 3.6% in May, but the gains were largely concentrated in commercial aircraft and military wares. Most other manufacturers reported softer growth in durable-goods orders.

Lennar Corp.’s (LEN) fiscal second-quarter earnings slumped 70% as the homebuilder came up against a year-ago period buoyed by a much larger tax gain, however revenue jumped well above Wall Street views amid strong orders and deliveries. For the quarter ended May 31, Lennar reported a profit of $137.4 million, or 61 cents a share, versus $452.7 million, or $2.06 cents a share, a year earlier.