Stocks rise in early trading on Wall Street

Stocks rose in early trading on Wall Street today as the government reported positive data for the housing market.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 64 points, or 0.5%, to 12,696.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 8 points, or 0.6%, to 1,339.

The technology-focused Nasdaq was up 10 points, or 0.4%, to 2,904.

The U.S. Department of Commerce said housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000, up 2.6% from a revised March estimate of 699,000.

Meanwhile, Greece continued to struggle to form a government, but European stock markets were in positive territory.

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