Stocks Climbing, Dow up Triple Digits, Consumers Feeling Better

Stocks jumped on good earnings and positive economic data in Friday's midday trading. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment unexpectedly rose in October to its highest since July 2007. Overall index on consumer sentiment came in at 86.4. Homebuilders are adding to gains after government data showed housing starts were strong last month rising 6.3%. Hovnanian (HOV) is gaining the most out of the bunch, up better than 5%, Toll Brothers (TOL) and KB Home (KBH) are also gaining more than 2%. Energy shares are performing well for the S&P 500. Gains are led by oil services companies Schlumberger (SLB) and Halliburton (HAL). Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is gaining in the session despite missing earnings and getting downgraded on Wall Street. AMD says it will lay off 7% of its workers to try to improve its profitability. On the Nasdaq, Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) are among the most actively traded, both rising more than 2%.