STOCKS RISE: Here's What You Need To Know

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 15,541.9, +19.8, +0.1%
• S&P 500: 1,687.6, +2.2, +0.1%
• NASDAQ: 3,619.1, +20.8, +0.5%

And now, the top stories:

• U.S. home prices, as measured by S&P/Case-Shiller, increased by 12.17% year-over-year in May. This was just a hair shy of the 12.40% increase expected by economists. Still, every city covered by the 20-city index exhibited gains.
• "Dallas and Denver reached record levels surpassing their pre-financial crisis peaks set in June 2007 and August 2006," highlighted the report. "This is the first time any city has made a new all-time high."
• The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence fell to 80.3 in July from 82.1 in June. This was below expectations for a reading of 81.3. "Consumer Confidence fell slightly in July, precipitated by a weakening in consumers’ economic and job expectations," said the Conference Board's Lynn Franco. "However, confidence remains well above the levels of a year ago. "
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