Greek polls and housing data boost Wall Street

US stocks saw their first weekly gain since April as Greek election polls revealed support for pro-bailout parties and data showed the American housing market is stabilizing.

A Bloomberg report out today showed home values in 20 US cities fell at the slowest pace in more than a year in the 12 months ended March. This data, coupled with more positive news from Greece, helped counter less optimistic consumer confidence data. The US market was closed yesterday for the Memorial Day holiday, but figures from the Conference Board showed confidence among US consumers unexpectedly fell in May to its lowest level in four months, as Americans grow more pessimistic about the labour market. However, stocks maintained gains after the news, with the S&P 500 climbing ...