Monday, May 18, 2009

Wall Street is higher in early trading as investors look for bargains after last week's pullback.

Investors are again examining the housing market for clues about the economy. Home improvement retailer Lowe's Cos. has posted better-than-expected earnings and raised its full-year profit projection.

An index of home builders' confidence is due at 1 p.m. Eastern time.

In the early going, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 100 at 8,374. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 11 at 895, while the Nasdaq composite index is up 20 at 1,700.