Stocks move higher ahead of Memorial Day holiday

5/23/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Wall-Street-697

    Trader Neil Catania, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 23, 2014. Stocks inched higher early Friday in quiet trading ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

    ASSOCIATED PRESS

    • NEW YORK -- Major U.S. stock indexes are slightly higher in midday trading as the market heads for a week of solid gains.

    Trading was quiet ahead of the Memorial Day holiday.

    Homebuilder stocks rose after the government reported that sales of new homes increased last month. Investors also bid up shares in GameStop and Hewlett-Packard after the companies reported positive earnings.

    The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained six points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,898 as of noon today. That’s one point above the index’s previous all-time high close 10 days ago.

    The Dow Jones industrial average rose 51 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,594.

    The Nasdaq composite added rose 18 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,172.

    Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.53 percent.