For now, bad news is good for the stock market.

A pair of lackluster economic reports eased concern that the Federal Reserve would pull back on its economic stimulus, pushing stocks higher on Wall Street.

Stocks surged in early trading following a three-day weekend after U.S. home prices rose the most in seven years.

A stock market surge took a pause Monday after investors pushed indexes to record levels last week.

Encouraging news about the U.S. economy helped push stock prices higher in early trading on Wall Street Friday.

Just two months after recovering the last of its losses from the financial crisis, the Dow Jones industrial average charged higher Tuesday, closing above 15,000 for the first time.

Wells Fargo, the nation's biggest mortgage lender, said its first-quarter profit surged 23 percent after the bank cut expenses.

Stocks opened sharply lower on Wall Street after U.S. employers added the fewest jobs in nine months, falling short of economists' forecasts.