Stocks Ended Higher on Consumer Confidence

U.S. stocks finished higher on Tuesday as a strong read on consumer confidence increased optimism about the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 91.19 points, or 0.56%, to 16,367.88. The S&P 500 was up 8.18 points, or 0.44%, at 1,865.62. The Nasdaq Composite rose 7.88 points, or 0.19%, at 4,234.27.

A gauge of U.S. consumer confidence jumped this month to the highest level in more than six years, blowing past a forecast from economists. The Conference Board on Tuesday reported that its gauge of consumer confidence reached 82.3 in March, compared with an upwardly revised 78.3 in February.

Sales of new homes in the U.S. fell 3.3% in February to a five-month low, as higher mortgage rates and home prices and bitterly cold weather took a bite out of demand. New homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 440,000 in February, down from January’s one-year high of 455,000, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Google Inc. on Tuesday unveiled reduced prices for a number of its “on-demand, pay-as-you-go” cloud computing services by 30% to 85% in a bid to simplify its offerings in the fast growing market.