Home Sales Give Market a Late Jolt

The stock market finished the week in strong fashion thanks to robust economic numbers that came out in the afternoon, reports CNBC. Sales of existing homes rose a record 24.7% in July from the previous month, and the average sale price rose to a record $304,100. Low interest rates helped, notes the Wall Street Journal. Also on Friday, manufacturing activity rose to its highest level in 19 months in August. All of which helped the markets: The Dow rose 190 points to 27,930, the S&P 500 rose 11 points to 3,397, and the Nasdaq rose 46 points to 11,311.

“The housing market is actually past the recovery phase and is now in a booming stage,” Lawrence Yun of the National Association of Realtors tells the Journal. “New demand has been created because of the pandemic, with the work-from-home flexibility.” The surge in sales is expected to have ripple effects on the economy as people spend on renovations, appliances, and home goods. (More stock market stories.)