Stocks rose modestly yesterday, with technology stocks taking the lead, as investors weighed a shift in power in the US Senate to the Democrats and a sharp drop in new-homes sales.
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 38.53 points, or 1.72 per cent, to close at 2,282.01. The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 16.91 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 11,122.42. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 added 4.12 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 1,293.17.
"There is a bit of a seesaw going," said Charles Lemonides, chief investment officer at M&R Capital Management, which oversees about $275 million, as the major indexes bobbed around break-even during the session. "More than anything, I think we are just seeing the market adjust to the recent volatility over the past few weeks."
By late afternoon, the market managed to shrug off a government report that showed US homes fell sharply in April - suggesting the housing market, long a bright spot in a clouded economic picture, may also be slowing. The number of new single-family homes sold in April fell 9.5 per cent from March, the largest percentage drop since April 1997.
