Stocks make U-turn, rising on home prices, Europe

NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market jumped today after a surge in U.S. home prices and signs of strength in Europe's economy. Strong earnings reports also helped power the gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 107 points to 13,986 as of 11:49 a.m. EST. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 13 to 1,509. The Nasdaq composite was up 29 to 3,160.

The rise follows two days of whiplash. On Friday, the Dow gained 149 points, rising above 14,000 for the first time since 2007. On Monday, it fell 129 points, its worst sell-off of the year so far.

Today's advance was driven by new data showing that U.S. home prices rose in December at the fastest pace in more than six years. CoreLogic, a real estate data provider, reported that home prices rose 8.3 percent.

In Europe, a measure of manufacturing and service businesses rose to a 10-month high January.