NEW YORK — Good news about car sales, home prices and manufacturing is leading the stock market higher at midday.
Trading was quiet ahead of the July 4th holiday. Traders weighed a number of positive reports, including Ford's best June auto sales since 2006. Home prices climbed to a seven-year high and factory orders rose.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up seven points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,622 shortly before noon Tuesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 58 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,003. The Nasdaq composite was up 14 points, or 0.4 percent, at 3,449.
U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for Independence Day.
Zynga jumped 9 percent to $3.34 after the troubled online game maker replaced its CEO.
