US surge on mild GDP, housing data

Wall Street showed signs of life to today, closing sharply higher after a drop in existing home sales and sturdy economic growth calmed investors’ inflation jitters and motivated them to buy stocks after two weeks of losses.

While first-quarter gross domestic product growth was revised upward to an annual rate of 5.3%, that figure came in below forecasts for a 5.8% gain. The adjustment came as evidence that the economy is expanding but at a controlled pace, which could keep the Federal Reserve from lifting short-term lending rates.