The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) announced on Tuesday its housing market index (HMI) surged 21 points to 37 in June from an unrevised May reading of 37.

Economists had forecast the HMI to increase to 45.

A reading over 50 indicates more builders view conditions as good than poor.

All three HMI components registered gains this month. The indicator gauging current sales conditions jumped 21 points to 63 in June, while the component measuring traffic of prospective buyers climbed 22 points to 43 and the measure charting sales expectations surged 22 points to 68.

NAHB Chairman Dean Mon noted: “As the nation reopens, housing is well-positioned to lead the economy forward. Inventory is tight, mortgage applications are increasing, interest rates are low and confidence is rising. And buyer traffic more than doubled in one month even as builders report growing online and phone inquiries stemming from the outbreak.”

Meanwhile, NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said: “Housing clearly shows signs of momentum as challenges and opportunities exist in the single-family market. Builders report increasing demand for families seeking single-family homes in inner and outer suburbs that feature lower density neighborhoods. At the same time, elevated unemployment and the risk of new, local virus outbreaks remain a risk to the housing market.”

U.S. stock-index futures rose on Tuesday after the release of much-better-than-expected data on the U.S. retail sales for May, as well as reports about potential steroidal treatment for coronavirus and Trump $1 trillion infrastructure plan.

Global Stocks:

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

Pfizer (PFE) initiated with a Mkt Perform at SVB Leerink; target $40

Apple (AAPL) target raised to $425 from $375 at Wedbush 

Apple (AAPL) target raised to $400 from $310 at Citigroup

Alcoa (AA) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank; target $10

Intel (INTC) downgraded to Equal-Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley; target $65

NVIDIA (NVDA) downgraded to Equal-Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley; target $380

Cisco (CSCO) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill; target raised to $55

FXStreet reports that Mike Wilson from Morgan Stanley believes that while a correction on the S&P 500 Index may be afoot, this isn’t atypical for a young bull market. Therefore, he targets 2800 before the rally resumes.

“The V-shape recovery in markets is foreshadowing a V-shape recovery in the economy and earnings. It's following the same pattern we witnessed after the Great Financial Crisis recession. In fact, the correction is right on schedule with that period too, and it's likely not finished. More specifically, I'm targeting 2800 on the downside for the S&P 500 before this bull market resumes in earnest.”

“Our June 2021 base case price target for the S&P 500 is now 3350 with a bull and bear case target of 3700 and 2900, respectively.”

“With housing and equity markets holding up, the average consumer net worth is unchanged, which means we aren't expecting a big deleveraging cycle this time. On the contrary, it appears the consumer wants to get back to normal fast, which means 70% of the economy is able to recover quickly.”