Markets recover as home prices rise

The markets recovered to trade higher during the midday with Dow climbing 71 points to 18,109 as February single family home prices rose. Nasdaq gained 12 points to 5,072.

On the upside

Nomura upgraded Windstream Holdings (Nasdaq: WIN) from a Neutral rating to a Buy rating.

AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) widened losses for the first quarter but the stock price rose on higher shipments.

1-800-Flowers.com (Nasdaq: FLWS) widened losses for the first quarter but the results were better than expected and the company lifted its full year earnings outlook.

On the downside

Gotham City Research issued a report saying that Endurance International Group (Nasdaq: EIGI) was worth $0 per share.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating MDC Partners (Nasdaq: MDCA) chief executive Miles Nadal and the company's accounting practices.

Profit taking weighed down shares of Synthesis Energy Systems (Nasdaq: SYMX).

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 rose 6 points to 2115. Bitcoin lost $6 to $227.