U.S. stocks end higher after upbeat housing data

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch)
U.S. stocks finished higher Wednesday, buoyed by strength in shares of home builders after data on home sales came in better than expected
The Dow industrials closed up 13.32 points, or 0.1%, at 13,577.96, its second-straight session gain The S&P 500 added 1.73 points, or 0.1%, to 1,461.05 and the Nasdaq Composite  rose 4.82 points, or 0.2%, to 3,182.62, following modest losses for both benchmark indexes over the past two sessions On the S&P 500 index, consumer discretionary stocks, which include home builders, led advancers
The energy sector was the biggest laggard, as a bigger-than-expected climb in last week's U.S. crude supplies helped drag oil futures  to their lowest level in six weeks