Stocks Edge Higher as Investors Remain Focused on Euro Zone Debt Crisis

Stocks have edged higher in trading currently as investors continue to monitor the euro zone debt crisis. European policymakers are facing increasing pressure to find a concrete resolution the euro zone debt crisis.

At last check, the Dow Jones was trading 1.23% higher at 10,903.62, the S&P 500 was trading 0.78% higher at 1,145.27, and the Nasdaq was trading 0.06% higher at 2,484.79.

The gains in the S&P 500 are being led by Conglomerates, which are currently trading 1.18% higher. Financials are also up sharply in trading currently. At last check, Financials were trading 1.11% higher. Basic Materials and Technology stocks have remained in red. At last check, Basic Materials stocks were trading 0.58% lower, while Technology stocks were trading 0.37% lower.

Among the major gainers and losers in trading currently are ImmunoGen Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN), which is currently trading 7.50% higher at $11.03, Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), which is currently trading 2.11% higher at $22.79, The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX), which is currently trading 4.42% lower at $66.33, Freescale Semiconductor Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: FSL), which is currently trading 1.31% lower at $12.08, Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), which is currently trading 1.74% higher at $6.42, UBS AG (NYSE: UBS), which is currently trading 4.44% higher at $11.75, and Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM), which is currently trading 0.76% lower at $30.20.

On the economic front, a report released earlier today showed that sales of new U.S. homes dropped to a six-month low in August, indicating that the housing market is still very weak. According to the figures released by the Commerce Department, sales of new homes dropped 2.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 295,000, making it the fourth straight monthly decline. Meanwhile, the median sales price of new home fell almost 9% in August.

Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.