Stocks end higher following economic readings

NEW YORK - Wall Street has closed out the week with a moderate gain after better than expected economic data placated a market pummeled a day earlier by concerns about housing and the financial sector. Specialists work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, July 24, 2008. Wall Street abruptly ended an earnings-driven rally and closed sharply lower Thursday after a steeper-than-expected decline in existing home sales and worries about the financial sector chilled the market's recent optimism. The major indexes fell about 2 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which lost more than 275 points. (AP ... The government said sales of new single-family homes fell by 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 530,000 units; the market expected sales to total 505,000. A barometer of... [read full story]