MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Edge Up; S&P 500 Hits Record

By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. stock market reversed opening losses and edged higher on Tuesday as investors digested a number of economic reports, including new-home sales, home prices and consumer confidence.

The S&P 500 (SPX) was up by a point at 1,963.37, scaling an intraday record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) inched up 4 points to 16,939.82. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) was the best performing index, adding 13 points, or 0.3%, to 4,381.34

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New U.S. homes sold at an annual rate of 504,000 in May to mark the fastest increase in six years, the government said Tuesday. Yet the surprising gain - economists polled by MarketWatch expected a 440,000 increase - was led by a huge surge in the Northeast. Sales of existing homes in May hit the fastest pace in seven months.

Home prices rose in April as the spring selling season got underway, even as annual growth skidded, dropping to the slowest pace in more than a year, according to data released Tuesday morning. April data show that home-price growth has turned

S&P/Case-Shiller's price barometer tracking 20 cities showed that year-over-year price growth hit 10.8% in April -- a fast pace but down sharply from annual growth of 12.4% in March and a recent peak of 13.7% in November.

A gauge of consumer confidence rose to 85.2 in June -- the highest level since January 2008 -- from 82.2 in May, the Conference Board Tuesday.

Investors will pay attention to speeches from several Federal Reserve officials.

Speaking in New York on Tuesday morning, Charles Plosser, the president of the Philadelphia Fed, said that several variations of a well-known monetary policy rule uniformly call for the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates in the third quarter of 2014, well before the market now expects the central bank to move.

Also on the Fed speakers docket, New York Fed President William Dudley and San Francisco Fed President John Williams.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will testify before a House committee on a report from the Financial Stability Oversight Council at 2 .p.m. Eastern Time.

Walgreen disappoints, Carnival Corp earnings top estimates

In corporate news, cruise company Carnival Corp. (CCL) beat consensus profit and revenue estimates and raised its full-year outlook. However, shares fell 2.2%.

Shares of Walgreen Co. (WAG) also fell 2.3% after the drugstore chain operator missed Wall Street estimates.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) shares rocketed 41% to $94.21 after announcing that two Phase 3 trials of its cystic fibrosis treatment met their primary endpoint.

xG Technology Inc. (XGTI) shares soared 43% to $2.64 after the wireless communications firm said it was selected by the U.S. Army as a subcontractor to provide communications and network services. The deal is worth $497 million.

Elizabeth Arden (RDEN) stock fell 3.9% after the company's board released details of a broad restructuring program, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Asian stocks rise, European shares turn lower

In Asia overnight, equities ended mostly higher ahead of a presentation of an economic reforms package by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 turned lower after a downbeat German business confidence survey.

Among commodities, crude-oil (CLQ4) prices were mostly unchanged, up 2 cents to $106.08 a barrel, while gold futures (GCQ4) pushed higher, trying to extend the winning streak to 5 days. Prices rose $3.5 to $1,322.20 a troy ounce.

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