Investing.com - The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index rose more than expected in March, underlining optimism over the housing sector, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, Standard & Poor’s with Case-Shiller said its house price index rose at an annualized rate of 12.4% in March from a year earlier, compared to forecasts for a gain of 11.8% and following a rise of 12.9% in February.
Month-on-month, U.S. home prices climbed by a seasonally adjusted 0.9%, above expectations for a 0.2% gain and after a flat reading in the preceding month.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar held on to modest gains against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.07% to trade at 1.3637, compared to 1.3640 ahead of the data.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a gain of 0.4%, the S&P 500 indicated a rise of 0.35%, while the Nasdaq 100 signaled an increase of 0.4%.