Wall Street gained overnight after a report showed US housing starts rose to the highest level in eight months, while Home Depot posted better-than-expected earnings, bolstering hope that the American real estate market is finally showing signs of an enduring recovery.
Shares of Apple rose, last up 1.3 per cent at US$100.48, amid growing anticipation for a slew of new products.
US housing starts climbed 15.7 per cent in July to a better-than-expected 1.09 million annualised rate, the highest level since November, according to Commerce Department data. Last month's gain followed two months of declines. On Monday, a report showed that a gauge of home builder confidence increased for the third month in a row.
Separately, the consumer price index rose 0.1 per cent in July, after rising 0.3 per cent in June, according to the Labor Department.
"With tame inflation data and the housing market benefiting from the drop in mortgage rates, it's painting a pretty sanguine picture," Russ Koesterich, chief investment strategist at New York-based BlackRock, told Bloomberg News. "Housing starts were encouraging, and the housing market is one area the [US Federal Reserve] has been concerned about being somewhat fragile."