Market Overview

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street rebounded sharply Monday as investors reacted warmly to data showing that existing home sales slipped by a small margin in May. The Dow Jones industrial average briefly rose more than 100 points.

The stock market was relieved to hear from the National Association of Realtors that existing home sales declined in May by only 0.3 percent to 5.99 million units.

The data shows the housing sector is still sluggish -- existing home sales are taking place at the slowest pace in four years, housing inventories rose by 5 percent to the highest level since 1992, and the median home price fell for a record 10th consecutive month.

However, a tepid housing market is something stock investors have gotten used to, and the data kept bond yields from resuming their surge: the 10-year Treasury note's yield fell to 5.10 percent from 5.14 percent late Friday. Soaring Treasury yields have dogged the stock market in recent weeks, because higher rates can slow down corporate activity; higher yields contributed to a plunge in the market Friday that took the Dow Jones industrials down 185 points.

Furthermore, despite the weak housing market, consumers keep spending and driving corporate profits, and could end up spending even more going forward as gasoline prices ease from recent highs, said Richard Hoyt, market strategist at KDV Wealth Management.

"My sense is consumption is still reigning -- consumer sales are up," said Hoyt, pointing to the Commerce Department's report earlier this month that May retail sales jumped by 1.4 percent.

In late morning trading, the Dow rose 98.60, or 0.74 percent, to 13,458.86, after rising more than 110 points.

Broader stock indexes were also higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 8.92, or 0.59 percent, to 1,511.48, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 13.31, or 0.51 percent, to 2,602.27.

Last week, the three major indexes posted sizable losses: the Dow dropped 2.1 percent, the S&P declined 2 percent and the Nasdaq dipped 1.4 percent