NEW YORK – The Dow Jones industrials are back above 9,000 for the first time since the beginning of January.

Investors snapped up stocks across the market Thursday, sending major indexes up more than 2 percent, after a report showed existing home sales jumped for the third straight month in June.

The 3.6-percent increase in home sales has investors excited that the hard-hit housing market might be improving. The National Association of Realtors said sales came in at 4.89 million, above the 4.84 million analysts had been expecting.....