Wall Street ends higher with strong new home sales data

NEW YORK (AA) -- Wall Street closed higher Tuesday after new home sales for July increased at its fastest pace in almost nine years and oil prices jumped into positive territory.

The Dow Jones rose 18 points to end the day at 18,547. The S&P 500 was up four points to 2,186, while the Nasdaq gained 15 points to 5,260.

During trading hours, the Nasdaq reached 5,276 points -- marking a new all-time high.

New home sales in the U.S. jumped 12.4 percent, compared to the previous month, to reach 654,000, according to the Commerce Department. It was the fastest monthly increase since October 2007.

In addition, new home sales in July rose 13.3 percent, compared to the same month a year ago.

Oil prices increased more than 1 percent Tuesday, shaking off bearish sentiment in the market caused by a strong dollar Monday.

At the final bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded at $47.98 a barrel, a 1.2 percent increase, while international benchmark Brent crude was at $49.81, up 1.3 percent.