Investors Come Home to Gains
16 May 2017 - 5:30AM
Dow Jones News
By Akane Otani
Rallying home-builder shares got a fresh boost Monday after data
showed rising confidence in the industry.
Home-builder stocks have generally outperformed the S&P 500
this year as reports have shown the U.S. housing market
strengthening. On Monday, the group added to its gains, with D.R.
Horton Inc. shares rising 0.9%, Lennar Corp. climbing 1.4%, Toll
Brothers Inc. adding 0.9% and KB Home gaining 1%. Each of the four
stocks is up double-digit percentages this year, while the S&P
500 is up roughly 7%.
The day's moves came after a report showed the National
Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, a
measure of sentiment among U.S. home builders, climbed in May to
its second-highest reading since 2005. Economists polled by The
Wall Street Journal had expected to see the gauge hold steady.
Monday's report added to a string of upbeat readings for the
housing industry. Home sales in the first quarter climbed to their
highest level since the same period of 2007, the National
Association of Realtors said Monday. The share of first-time buyers
is rising back toward its historical average, according to data
from the Census Bureau, and new households are more often choosing
to buy homes rather than rent them, home-tracker Trulia said this
month. That's created fresh demand for new homes, as well as lifted
shares of home-improvement companies.
Data scheduled for release Tuesday could give home-builder
shares another jolt. U.S. single-family housing starts are expected
to have risen 3.7% in April from the previous month, according to
economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.
Upbeat earnings could also boost shares of companies tied to the
housing market. Home Depot Inc., whose shares are up 17% this year,
is expected to report earnings Tuesday.
Write to Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 15, 2017 15:15 ET (19:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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