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NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 gained about 0.4%. The Nasdaq rose 0.5%.
Before the market opened, the government reported a 5-year low for weekly jobless claims in the latest week.
The pace of home building surged in December, as the market bounced back from the impact of Superstorm Sandy. The Census Bureau said housing starts increased 12.1% over the previous month. Applications for new building permits, considered a leading indicator, jumped 28.8% from last year's level.
Shares of residential construction companies rallied, with Hovnanian (HOV), Pulte Group (PHM) and DR Horton (DHI) up in early trading.
"December's surge in housing starts tops off an encouraging year for homebuilders," said Paul Diggle, economist at Capital Economics. "Given how far below normal levels starts remain even now, we expect further strong gains during 2013."
Boeing's (BA, Fortune 500) problems continued to deepen, after regulators in Europe, India and Japan joined the Federal Aviation Administration after it grounded all Dreamliner planes. They cited worries about onboard lithium-ion batteries that have twice caught fire recently.
Related: Bank of America profit dinged by mortgage charges
Meanwhile, investors got the next batch of big bank earnings to parse through.
"It's been a real mixed bag with the numbers," said Ben Schwartz, chief market strategist at Lightspeed Financial.
Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) posted fourth-quarter earnings that fell from a year earlier but topped forecasts. The bank's results included a number of mortgage-related charges.
Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) reported profits that missed expectations, partly due to high legal costs amounting to $1.3 billion. Chief Executive Michael Corbat cited "an environment that remains challenging."
BlackRock (BLK, Fortune 500), the world's largest asset manager, reported better-than-expected earnings.
American Express (AXP, Fortune 500),Capital One (COF, Fortune 500) andIntel (INTC, Fortune 500) will report results after the closing bell.
Related: Citigroup posts a big earnings miss
Overall, S&P 500 companies are expected to report earnings growth of 3.2% for the last three months of 2012, according to S&P's Capital IQ.
"People weren't expecting a great earnings season, and they're not getting one," said Rex Macy, chief investment officer at Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors. "They're getting a decent one. Earnings are meeting lowered expectations."
Still the economic recovery is "sound" and there is a certain level of "comfort" in the market, said Macy. The main risk, he added, is that officials in Washington will fail to resolve the crisis over the nation's borrowing limit.
"If Washington doesn't mess things up, we should be fine," he said.
Shares of Herbalife (HLF) fell after the vitamin supplement company said it would likely incur temporary expenses relate to "recent events." Activist investor Bill Ackman, who runs the $11 billion hedge fund Pershing Square, has called Herbalife a pyramid scheme and publicly said that he's betting $1 billion that its stock will fall to zero. On the other side is Dan Loeb, who runs Third Point. He's taken an 8% stake in Herbalife and says Ackman's claims are preposterous.
CBS (CBS, Fortune 500) shares jumped after the company announced it would take its American outdoor division, which runs billboards, and convert it into a real estate investment trust. It's planning to outright sell its European and Asian outdoor operations.
Mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO) replaced its CEO after taking a $14 billion writedown on its aluminum and coal businesses.
U.S. stocks ended mixed Wednesday.
Related: Fear & Greed Index showing extreme greed
European markets were were higher in late day trading. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei closed narrowly higher, but the Hang Seng slipped and the Shanghai Composite fell more than 1%.
Oil prices jumped 1.3% to $95.48 a barrel. Gold was up nearly $5 to $1,688 an ounce. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was unchanged at 1.87%. The U.S. dollar gained versus the Japanese yen and British pound, but fell against the euro. 
First Published: January 17, 2013: 9:47 AM ET
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