Stocks were up at midday thanks to a jump in housing starts, a benign report on consumer prices and a jump in oil prices.Consumer prices remain in check. Oil jumps on a build in supplies. The Fed is expected to keep rates steady. Galleon’s Rajaratnam is indicted on fraud charges.
Housing starts rose 8.9% in November to 574,000, the biggest monthly gain in six months, the Commerce Department reported this morning.
Consumer prices rose 0.4% in November, but the core Consumer Price Index, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was flat last month.
Posted by Elizabeth Strott on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 9:01 AM
Updated at 11:50 a.m. ET