Stocks End Higher as Data Signals Growth

U.S. stocks inched higher on Thursday, with the S&P reaching a record high, lifted by reports on existing-home sales and manufacturing topped forecast.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 60.36 points, or 0.36%, to 17,039.49. The S&P 500 gained 5.86 points, or 0.29%, to 1,992.37. The Nasdaq Composite rose 5.62 points, or 0.12%, to 4,532.10.

A fourth straight monthly increase in sales of existing homes provided the latest evidence Thursday that the U.S. housing market is rebounding from a weak start to the year. Sales of existing homes rose 2.4 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.15 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.

Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates declined this week, with the 30-year loan rate hitting its 52-week low. Mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday the nationwide average for a 30-year mortgage fell to 4.10 percent from 4.12 percent last week. The average for a 15-year mortgage, a popular choice for people who are refinancing, slipped to 3.23 percent from 3.24 percent.

Sears Holdings Corp reported its ninth straight quarterly loss as sales continued to shrink.The loss attributable to the company’s shareholders widened to $573 million, or $5.39 per share, in the second quarter ended Aug. 2 from $194 million, or $1.83 per share, a year earlier. Revenue declined to $8.01 billion from $8.87 billion.

Some customers of The UPS Store may have had their credit and debit card information exposed by a computer virus found on systems at 51 stores in 24 states. A spokeswoman for UPS says the information includes names, card numbers and postal and email addresses from about 100,000 transactions between Jan. 20 and Aug. 11.

Sprint Corp unveiled a plan on Thursday that gives subscribers access to unlimited data for $60 a month, the industry’s cheapest unlimited data offering as the carrier attempts to reverse the decline in its subscriber base.