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Applications for home mortgages surged last week, racking up the biggest increase in four months on a flood of refinancing demand as interest rates remained low, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Builders broke ground on more single-family homes and apartments in June, helping the battered construction industry gain a little life after a dismal spring.

Stocks opened higher as encouraging quarterly results from blue-chip companies and a hint of housing optimism gave a boost to investor sentiment.

The world economy should expand steadily this year and next thanks mainly to prospering emerging powers, a Reuters poll showed, but fiscal troubles lurking in Europe and potentially the United States risk blowing this view apart.

The Commerce Department's report on new home construction is likely to show that multifamily properties is the bright spot in the beleaguered market.

Consumer prices fell slightly more than expected in June to post their biggest drop in a year on weak gasoline costs, government data showed on Friday, pointing to a cooling in commodity-driven inflation pressures.

U.S. retail sales rose slightly in June. Initial claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week but remained at elevated levels.

A 63-year-old woman grabbed a burglar less than half her age after she found him in her home and made him wait for the police, according to reports.

Private businesses added a stronger number of jobs in June than expected, according to ADP, while new claims for jobless benefits fell last week.

Apartment landlords continue to have the best of all worlds as rents go higher and vacancies fall.