Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,352,000, the Census Bureau reported. This is 1.8% below the revised March rate of 1,377,000, but is 7.7% above the April 2017 rate of 1,255,000. Single-family authorizations in April were at a rate of 859,000; this is 0.9% above the revised March figure of 851,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 450,000 in April.

Wednesday, the Dow gained 62.52 points (0.25%) to finish at 24,768.93, the NASDAQ closed 46.67 points (0.63%) higher at 7,398.30, and the S&P 500 was up 11.01 points (0.41%) at 2,722.46. The Russell 2000 increased 16.03 points (1.00%) to 1,616.37, and the Wilshire 5000 climbed 125.12 points (0.44%) to 28,322.99.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note was down 6/32, increasing its yield to 3.098%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond decreased 11/32, bringing its yield up to 3.221%.

ON THIS DATE: In 1792, the New York Stock Exchange was founded at 70 Wall Street by 24 brokers. In 1875, the first Kentucky Derby was run at Louisville, Kentucky. In 1946, President Harry Truman seized control of the nation’s railroads, delaying a threatened strike by engineers and trainmen. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled for school integration in Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. The ruling declared that racially segregated schools were inherently unequal. In 1999, Alex Trebek received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2006, the U.S. aircraft carrier Oriskany was sunk about 24 miles off Pensacola Beach. It was the first vessel sunk under a Navy program to dispose of old warships by turning them into diving attractions. It was the largest man-made reef at the time of the sinking.