NEW YORK(AP)�Stocks closed sharply higher on Wall Street as traders turned their focus back to corporate news from the U.S. and hopes that the Federal Reserve will come up with a plan to jumpstart the economy.
There were also signs that the housing market is healing. American builders broke new ground on more single-family homes in May and requested more permits to build homes and apartments than they have in the past three and a half years.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 96 points at 12,837, the highest in a month.
Microsoft (MSFT) was one of the biggest gainers in the Dow. The stock jumped 2.9% after the company announced a new tablet computer called Surface to compete with the immensely popular iPad from Apple.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 13 points to 1,358 Tuesday. The Nasdaq composite index rose 34 points to 2,930.
Stock trendDow Jones industrial average, five trading days
About five stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was average at 3.8 billion shares.
Other stocks:
� J.C. Penney stock (JCP) plunged $2.08, or 8.6%, to $22.25 after the chain store announced that Michael Francis, the former Target executive brought in to help redefine the company's brand, was leaving the company.
� Barnes & Noble fell 61 cents, or 4%, to $14.63 after the book store chain (BKS) reported a wider loss than Wall Street was expecting. It also reported that its Nook e-reader sales fell 11% in the quarter.
� Walgreen plunged $1.87, or 5.85%, to $30.09 after the company (WAG) said it is buying a $6.7 billion stake in European health and beauty retailer Alliance Boots. Investors worried about a deal that would expose the biggest U.S. drugstore chain to a continent beset by worries of a recession.
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