FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2012 file photo, Michael O'Connor, right, of Getco Securities and a fellow trader work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Futures are edging higher Wednesday, Sept. 19, ahead of a pair of reports regarding the U.S. housing market that are expected to provide more hope for the beleaguered industry. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2012 file photo, Michael O'Connor, right, of Getco Securities and a fellow trader work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Futures are edging higher Wednesday, Sept. 19, ahead of a pair of reports regarding the U.S. housing market that are expected to provide more hope for the beleaguered industry. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, File)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Futures edged higher Wednesday with new data providing hope to beleaguered homeowners and the housing industry as well.
Construction of new homes and apartments rose 2.3 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 750,000, the Commerce Department reported, driven by the fastest pace of single-family home construction in more than two years.
Dow Jones industrial futures rose 19 points to 13,518. The broader S&P futures added 1.9 points to 1,454.80. Nasdaq futures tacked on 4.5 points to 2,854.50.
Later Wednesday, the National Association of Realtors will report on existing home sales. Economists are looking for more promising news there as well.
Sales of existing homes last month are expected to have risen by 1.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.55 million units, according to a survey by FactSet. The report will be released at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
Overseas, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index hit a four-month high after the nation's central bank followed the U.S. Federal Reserve by broadening its massive asset purchasing plan, boosting funding to 55 trillion yen ($700 billion) from 45 trillion yen.
However, the bid by Tokyo to dampen the strong yen in order to better compete internationally did little for markets overseas.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was flat at 5,871 while Germany's DAX was down 0.1 percent at 7,342. The CAC-40 in France was also 0.1 percent lower at 3,508.
After the U.S Fed announced that it would spend $40 billion a month on mortgage-backed securities, markets from the U.S. to Asia to Europe skyrocketed.
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