Scott Eells/Bloomberg via Getty Images Stocks ended Friday trading higher, despite a report showing a big drop in sales of newly built homes, which prompted a selloff earlier in the session. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) rose 46 points, or 0.3 percent, to 15,010, building on Thursday's gains. The Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) added six points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,663. and the Nasdaq composite index (^IXIC) gained 19 points, or 0.5 percent, to 3,657, a day after the exchange was shutdown for three hours because of technical troubles. Data from the Commerce Department showed sales of new single-family homes in the U.S. fell by 13.4 percent in July to an annual rate of 394,000 units, well below expectations of 490,000 units.
The data weighed on homebuilder stocks, with PulteGroup (PHM) down 1.6 percent to $16.06, Toll Brothers (TOL) off 3.9 percent to $31.19 and D.R. Horton (DHI) off 2.9 to $18.73. After a technological problem shut down trading in Nasdaq securities Thursday, Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ) Chief Executive Officer Robert Greifeld said the exchange resolved the technical issues that led to Thursday's trading halt but can't guarantee there would be no future problems. Time Warner Cable (TWC) is offering free antennas to allow customers to watch CBS (CBS) during a blackout that's in its third week. The companies have been unable to reach a new programming deal since their agreement expired in June. Customers in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas can get a free indoor antenna at their local Time Warner Cable store, or receive a $20 voucher, good for the purchase of an antenna at Best Buy (BBY).
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