Stocks Rebound with Housing Numbers

Following some strong U.S. housing numbers, stocks were rebounding sharply on Tuesday Morning. If you would like to be alerted to housing number updates as they come out in real-time, signup for a

of Benzinga Pro's premium news service. According to

, “The Dow Jones Industrial Average was surging 259.2 points, or 2.2%, at 12,025. The S&P 500 was rising 25.7 points, or 2.1% , at 1231, and the Nasdaqwas ahead by 56.9 points, or 2.3%, at 2580. All 30-components of the blue-chip index were on a tear, with JPMorgan Chase

, Chevron

and Caterpillar

leading the pack.” Earlier in the day,

asking if today's housing numbers could jumpstart the economy. “This morning,” said Benzinga writer Abhi Rao, “traders will be for building permits and housing starts to be higher than estimates of 630K. If the number is higher than the estimate, equity market futures will immediately move higher, and barring unforeseen European news or other macroeconomic news, will set the stage for the U.S. equity markets.” Whether the economy will jumpstart remains to be seen, but the housing numbers have certainly given it a lift. The street said that, “The Commerce Department on Tuesday reported better-than-expected housing starts in November, rising 9.3% to 685,000 from the revised October estimate of 627,000 and better than the 630,000 that economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting. Building permit numbers for November also came in better than expected, rising 5.7% to 681,000 from the revised October estimate of 644,000, and better than the 635,000 that economists polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting.” Not everyone was being cheerful, with

warning of home sales revisions. Diana Olick wrote that, “The National Association of Realtors, for a number of reasons I won't get into because they've been widely reported, overcounted home sales during part of the last decadeand has spent the better part of this past year figuring out just how badly they did that. They consulted with economists at the Federal Reserve, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the mortgage bankers, the home builders, as well as umpteen other housing specialists, and tomorrow they will release their results. Expectations are that home sales could be revised down anywhere from 10 percent to 20 percent. The Realtors' chief economist said the revision would be, ‘meaningful.'”