Stocks on pace for first weekly gain in 6 weeks

NEW YORK (AP) — Better-than-expected reports on home building and jobs put stock indexes on track for their first weekly gain in a month and a half.

Construction of new homes grew faster than expected last month, the government reported Thursday. The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits also fell last week to 414,000, more of an improvement than economists expected. Weekly applications for unemployment have been over 400,000 since April, a rate that suggests job growth is still slow.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 88 points, or 0.7 percent, to 11,985 in midday trading. The S&P 500 rose 8, or 0.6 percent, to 1,273. The Nasdaq composite rose 9, or 0.4 percent, to 2,640.

Home Depot Inc. rose 2.3 percent, the most of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow, following the better than expected report on home construction. Kroger Co. rose 4.6 percent after the supermarket chain's earnings rose as shoppers paid more for groceries and gas. And Winnebago Industries Inc. tumbled nearly 20 percent after the motor home company said profits fell nearly 80 percent in its last quarter.