After a brief stumble, stocks marched higher on Tuesday thanks to strong housing data, leaving the market with its best two-day winning streak in nearly three months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average struggled from the opening bell until just after the release of data showing that pending sales of existing homes unexpectedly rose in December, suggesting the housing market is steadying after sharp swings caused by a government tax credit. The blue-chip measure, which was off about 12 at its morning low, rallied steadily from there, ending 111.32 points higher, up 1.1%, at 10296.85. The Dow has risen 2.3% over the last two days, its best such run since Nov. 5 and 6. However, it has recouped less than a third of its point decline from a steep slide that closed January on a sour note. Short-term traders have welcomed the return of some volatility to the market after a mostly humdrum stretch of trading in the first few weeks of 2010. But the picture remains murkier for long-term investors, who have received a mostly positive run of data on the market's fundamentals lately with trepidation that weaker-than-expected employment readings, inflation, or other pitfalls may yet lie ahead.[Read more...]