Exchange-traded funds that track the home-building sector rallied on Wednesday, as existing-home sales snapped a two-month losing streak. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF rose 1% while the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF jumped 1.4%. The PowerShares Dynamic Building & Construction Portfolio rose 0.7%. The rise came as data showed sales of previously-owned homes jumped 3% in January, and the rate was higher than 2017’s full year total of 5.51 million. Among specific stocks, D.R. Horton rose 2.8% while Beazer Homes USA Inc. was up 2.9% and PulteGroup Inc. rose 2.3%. Toll Brothers Inc. gained 2.1%. All easily outperformed the broader market; the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1% while the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.2%.
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