U.S. stocks jump amid earning, data

U.S. stocks traded sharply higher in the morning session Tuesday, as investors digested upbeat economic data and mixed quarterly earnings reports.

By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 208.39 points, or 1.19 percent, to 17,701.32. The S&P 500 gained 27.14 points, or 1.33 percent, to 2,075.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index leapt 84.90 points, or 1.78 percent, to 4,850.69.

U.S. sales of new single-family houses in April 2016 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 619,000, well above market consensus of 523,000, said the U.S. Commerce Department Tuesday.

This is 16.6 percent above the revised March rate of 531,000 and is 23.8 percent above the April 2015 estimate of 500,000.

In corporate news, before Tuesday's opening bell, Toll Brothers Inc. reported net income of 89.1 million U.S. dollars for the second-quarter of 2016 fiscal year, or 0.51 dollar per diluted share, compared to net income of 67.9 million dollars, or 0.37 dollar per diluted share a year ago.

Shares of the U.S. luxury home builder soared over 8 percent around midday Tuesday following the release of the better-than-expected quarterly results.

Shares of Best Buy plunged about 7 percent around midday Tuesday after the electronics retailer lowered its second-quarter earnings guidance.

Investors are still awaiting more clues on whether the central bank will hike rates again next month. Analysts believed that the possibility of a June rate hike becomes higher after the release of the Federal Reserve's hawkish minutes from its April meeting.

On Monday, U.S. stocks ended mildly lower after wavering in a tight range, as Wall Street digested comments from several U.S. Fed officials for hints on the timing of the next rate hike. Enditem