Stocks finished higher Wednesday after spending most of the session in negative territory following another round of dismal news about the U.S. housing market. Stocks fell sharply immediately after the housing data was released but managed to recoup losses as the session progressed. Sales of new homes unexpectedly plunged 12.4 percent in July to the lowest level on record. Economists had expected sales to rise. The disappointing report came one day after another housing report showed a sharp decline in sales of existing homes. In other U.S. economic news, orders for durable goods rose a much smaller-than-expected 0.3 percent in July, though the gain was driven by a spike in orders for commercial aircraft. Excluding transportation, durable-goods orders fell 3.8 percent, the biggest drop in 18 months. The U.S. dollar fell versus the euro and gained versus the yen. Light sweet crude oil for October delivery rose 89 cents to $72.52 a barrel, ending a six-session decline. Gold futures rose $7.90 to $1,1241.30 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 19.61, or 0.2 percent, to 10,060.06. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.46, or 0.3 percent, to 1,055.33. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 17.78, or 0.8 percent, to 2,141.54.
