Indices were up in midday trading. Stock recovered ground lost this week as oil prices rebounded on news of winter storms in the Eastern U.S.
The S&P 500 was up 1.9% to 1,904.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.2% to 16,069.34. The Nasdaq was up 2.3% to 4,575.88
The yield on a 10-year Treasury bond was up 1.8% to 4,575.88.
The price of gold was down 0.2% to $1,096.
REAL ESTATE
Orange County homebuilders were up strongly as the National Association of Realtors said home sales grew nearly 15% in December. New mortgage rules in November had temporarily reduced sales. Americans bought 5.36 million homes in 2015, a 6.5% increase year-over-year and the highest total in 9 years; the median sales price was up about 7% last year.
Irvine-based Cal Atlantic Group Inc. was up 4.4% to $31.94 and a $3.7 billion market cap. Irvine-based Tri Pointe Group Inc. was up 3.4% to $10.26 and $1.6 billion market cap. Newport Beach-based William Lyon Homes was up 4.8% to $12.12 and a $362 million market cap. Aliso Viejo-based New Home Co. Inc. was up 3.4% to $10.03 and a $199 million market cap.
