(CNBC) — U.S. stocks climbed on Tuesday, with equities bouncing back after two days of losses, as investors embraced data that had consumer confidence hitting a six-year high in March.
“The markets are keying on the consumer confidence number, which surprised on the upside. The U.S. economy is dependent on consumers,” said Chris Gaffney, EverBank senior market strategist.
The Conference Board reported consumer confidence rose to 82.3 in March, up from 78.3 the month before; another report from the Commerce Department had new-home sales slipping 3.3 percent in February. And, the S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities climbed 13.2 percent from January 2013.
