Retailers and other consumer companies rallied as airport gridlock in the U.S. eased. Southwest Airlines executives said the airline was removing limits on.
Home builders rallied despite more gloomy data on the housing market. The average rate on the standard 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.42% from 6.27% last week, more than double levels from a year earlier, according to a survey from mortgage-finance firm Freddie Mac. Just over one in four houses went under contract within two weeks of going up for sale in the four weeks up to Dec.