国际英语新闻：U.S. stocks refresh 18-month highs on strong new home sales

NEW YORK, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. stocks refreshed 18- month highs on Friday after a government report showed new-home sales surged last month.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Friday that sales of new homes jumped 27 percent in March, bouncing off a record low in February. It was the best month since July and the biggest monthly increase in 47 years.

The housing data helped shares recover from early losses. Stocks opened slightly lower on Friday morning after Greece requested aid from the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Greek government formally requested the activation of a joint EU-IMF rescue plan after soaring borrowing costs were seen making it virtually impossible for the debt-strapped nation to meet its funding needs on the open market.

The U.S Commerce Department reported on Friday that demand for U.S.-made durable goods dropped for the first time in four months as orders for new aircraft plunged 67 percent.

However, orders excluding the volatile transportation goods actually made the biggest gain since December 2007 when the U.S. economy slipped into recession. Analysts believe that this showed the strength of the economic recovery.

In earnings, Honeywell International Inc. said on Friday its first-quarter earnings fell to 393 million U.S. dollars, or 50 cents a share, compared to 399 million dollars, or 54 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose 3 percent to 7.8 billion dollars.

The Dow rose 69.99, or 0.63 percent, to 11,204.28. The S&P 500 rallied 8.61, or 0.71 percent, to 1,217.28 and the Nasdaq composite index gained 11.08, or 0.44 percent, to 2,530.15.