Stocks have shown a strong upward move in early trading on Tuesday, moving back to the upside after coming under pressure in the previous session. The major averages have climbed firmly into positive territory but remain well off the highs set earlier this month.
The major averages have pulled back off their highs for the young session in the past few minutes but are holding on to strong gains. The Dow is up 118.52 points or 1 percent at 12,503.68, the Nasdaq is up 42.44 points or 1.5 percent at 2,807.55 and the S&P 500 is up 11.91 points or 0.9 percent at 1,317.35.
The early strength on Wall Street is partly due to a positive reaction to upbeat housing data, with a Commerce Department report released before the start of trading showing a much bigger than expected increase in housing starts in the month of June.
The report showed that housing starts jumped 14.6 percent to an annual rate of 629,000 in June from the revised May estimate of 549,000. Economists had expected housing starts to edge up to 575,000 from the 560,000 originally reported for the previous month.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, edged up by a more modest 2.5 percent to an annual rate of 624,000 from the revised May rate of 609,000.
Housing stocks have subsequently showing a strong move to the upside, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 2 percent. Notable gains by Lennar (LEN) and Hovnanian (HOV) are helping to lift the index off the one-month closing low it set in the previous session.
Early strength is also visible among technology stocks, which may be benefiting from the release of better than expected quarterly results from tech giant IBM Corp. (IBM). Shares of IBM have risen by 3.2 percent, reaching a record intraday high.
After the close of trading on Monday, IBM reported adjusted second quarter earnings of $3.09 per share compared to $2.62 per share last year. Analysts had been expecting the tech giant to earn $3.03 per share.
IBM also raised its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to at least $13.25 per share from at least $13.15 per share, while analysts estimate earnings of $13.22 per share.
Oil service, natural gas, and biotechnology stocks are also seeing significant early strength, while gold stocks are bucking the uptrend amid a pullback by the price of the precious metal.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.9 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index ended the day down by 0.7 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are all moving to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.7 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are up by 1.1 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing notable weakness on the heels of the upbeat housing data. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.7 basis points at 2.946 percent.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.