Home Improvement Industry Stocks +21% YTD

[Monday, August 13, 2012]  The Hard Fax Composite of home improvement industry stocks gained 17 points in the latest week of trading to end at 1329, up from 1312 the prior week, and is currently up 21 percent on the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 112 points for the week, ending at 13208, or plus eight percent on the year.

Last week the market basket of 28 industry-related stocks had 18 gainers versus 10 decliners.

For the coming week look to the retail sales report scheduled for Tuesday to have an impact on the market’s direction. Home Depot also reports second quarter results this week and that should give a good indication of the health of the home improvement industry in particular. Housing starts, another major market indicator, will be released Thursday.

The full stock chart, plus links to live quotes, is here: Read More ...