U.S. Stocks Up As Durable Goods Orders, Home Prices and Consumer Confidence All Rise

U.S. stocks were rising Tuesday after a boost in U.S. durable goods orders and home prices bolstered consumer confidence and growth in the world's largest economy.

The S&P 500 was rose 0.44% to 1,558.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.55% to 14,527.71, while Nasdaq climbed 0.23% to 3,243.56, according to reporting by The Street.

Durable goods orders rose 5.7% in February after falling by a revised 3.8% in January, according to data from the Census Bureau. Economists had expected durable goods orders to rise 3.8% in February.

Meanwhile, commercial aircraft orders rose, pointing to a rising trend in manufacturing activity and capital spending.

"The guts of the report seem sufficiently strong to buoy the stock market in the face of a fragile situation on the continent,"  Andrew Wilkinson,  New York City-based chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co, was quoted saying by The Street. He continued that there's "little evidence arguing against a still robust economic recovery in the world's largest economy."

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index showed a year-on-year increase of 8.1% in January, making it the most optimistic indicator since the start of the housing downturn in mid-2006, and exceeding what market-watchers predicted would be aa 7.9% rise, after growing 6.8% in December.

A lukewarm report from the Conference Board, also released Tuesday, that showed the Consumer Confidence Index fell more than expected to 59.7 in March, from 69 in February.

The Census Bureau reported new-home sales fell in February to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 411,000, down from an already lower revised annualized rate of 431,000; Regardless, the average sales price of new houses sold in February rose to $313,700 from $295,200 in January.

Safe-haven asset prices remained in neutral territory, as investor confidence strengthened. The benchmark 10-year Treasury was unchanged, yielding 1.925%, and so was the dollar, according to the U.S. dollar index.

May crude oil futures spiked at 82 cents to $95.63on the New York Mercantile Exchange.