Standard Pacific Up On Earnings Report

Shares of Irvine home builder Standard Pacific Corp. enjoyed a lift Friday, buoyed by enthusiasm over strong earnings recently reported by home builders Toll Brothers and Hovnanian Enterprises.

The stock moved up $1.54 a share, or 8.4%, to $19.99 on the New York Stock Exchange.

“There was concern that the housing market would roll over and die,” said John Stanley, an analyst at UBS Warburg. “But the earnings released in the last few days show that business is great.” Last Friday, the government released data showing that home sales fell in April.