Markets Right Now: Stocks rise for the 6th straight day

The latest on developments in financial markets (all times local):

11:45 a.m.

Stocks shook off a wobbly start and are higher at midday, putting the market on track for its sixth gain in a row.

The market is headed for its biggest weekly gain since 2011 Friday as it recovers more of the ground it lost in a harrowing plunge at the beginning of February.

Health care and technology companies led the way higher. Johnson & Johnson climbed 2.1 percent and Applied Materials rose 3.2 percent.

Homebuilders rose following a report that new home construction jumped last month. D.R. Horton rose 1.2 percent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 14 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,746.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 161 points, or 0.6 percent, to 25,359. The Nasdaq increased 30 points, or 0.4 percent, to 7,286.

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9:35 a.m.

Stocks are opening slightly higher on Wall Street as the market caps off a solid week of gains.

Health care companies were posting some of the biggest gains in early trading Friday. Drugmaker AbbVie rose 2.3 percent.

Homebuilders were broadly higher following a report that new home construction jumped 9.7 percent last month to the highest level since October 2016. D.R. Horton rose 1.1 percent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,733.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 39 points, or 0.2 percent, to 25,242. The Nasdaq climbed 6 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,263.