U.S. stocks turn up after lower open; gold falls,
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U.S. stocks climbed Wednesday, reversing course after a lower open, finding support from a rise in housing starts last month, as traders awaited a second day of testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on monetary policy and the economy. Gold futures fell as the U.S. dollar climbed against most currency rivals.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +0.49% added 34 points to 12,839.30, with shares of Intel Corp. INTC +2.40% leading the rise after posting second-quarter results.
The S&P 500 SPX +0.50% rose 5 points to 1,368.40, with technology stocks among the bigger gainers, while the Nasdaq Composite COMP +0.85% traded at 2,932.05, up 22 points.
Data Wednesday showed that June’s housing starts rose 6.9% to an annual rate of 760,000. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a rise to an annual rate of 750,000.