With traders reacting positively to the latest U.S. housing data, stocks have moved moderately higher during trading on Tuesday. Buying interest has remained relatively subdued, however, limiting the upside for the markets.
The major averages have given back some ground in recent trading but currently remain firmly positive. The Dow is up 45.82 points or 0.4 percent at 12,550.30, the Nasdaq is up 10.34 points or 0.4 percent at 2,857.55 and the S&P 500 is up 8.00 points or 0.6 percent at 1,323.99.
The strength that has emerged on Wall Street is partly due to the release of a report from the National Association of Realtors showing a rebound in existing home sales in the month of April.
NAR said existing home sales rose 3.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.62 million in April from a downwardly revised 4.47 million in March.
While sales came in below economist estimates, the report also showed the second consecutive month of annual home price growth
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, "This is the first time we've had back-to-back price increases from a year earlier since June and July of 2010."
As mentioned above, however, buying interest has remained somewhat subdued amid news that Fitch Ratings lowered Japan's credit rating.
Fitch cut Japan's long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings to A+ from AA and AA-, respectively, with the ratings agency citing growing risks for Japan's sovereign credit profile as a result of high and rising public debt ratios
Traders are also keeping an eye on developments in Europe ahead of a key European Union summit in Brussels on Wednesday.
Among individual stocks, shares of Best Buy (BBY) are up by 3 percent after the consumer electronics retailer reported better than expected first quarter results. The company also reaffirmed its full year earnings guidance.
Williams-Sonoma (WSM) is also trading higher after the home goods retailer reported first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates and raised its full year earnings forecast.
On the other hand, shares of Facebook (FB) are down by 2.9 percent, extending the steep drop seen in the previous session. Traders continue to keep a close eye on the social networking giant following its highly anticipated debut last Friday.
Sector News
Benefiting from the positive reaction to the existing home sales data, housing stocks have shown a strong move to the upside on the day. The Philadelphia Housing Sector Index has jumped 1.9 percent, climbing further off last Friday's one-month closing low.
KB Home (KBH) and Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV) are turning in two of the housing sector's best performances, advancing by 4.1 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively.
Significant strength also remains visible among banking stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent gain being posted by the KBW Bank Index. With the gain, the index is bouncing further off the three-month closing low it set last Friday. JP Morgan (JPM) and Citigroup (C) are posting standout gains.
Railroad stocks are also seeing considerable strength, resulting in a 1.2 percent advance by the Dow Jones Railroads Index. Brokerage, healthcare, and telecom stocks have also shown strong upward moves.
Meanwhile, notable weakness has emerged among electronic storage stocks, dragging the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index down by 1.9 percent. Seagate Technology (STX) is helping to lead the sector lower.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved higher on Tuesday, benefiting from the overnight rally on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 1.1 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.6 percent.
The major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index climbed 1.7 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both ended the day up by 1.9 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing notable weakness, pulling back further off their recent highs. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 6.1 basis points at 1.796 percent.
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Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.