Strong earnings coupled with mergers and acquisitions stimulated investors in today’s trading, spurring the three major indexes higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained +65.12 points, +0.40 percent, to close at 16,514.37. The Nasdaq advanced +39.91 points, +0.97 percent, to end the session at 4,161.46 while the S&P 500 moved up +7.66 points, +0.41 percent, to close at 1,879.55, as CNNMoney tells MHProNews. The Yahoo! Finance Manufactured Housing Composite advance +0.97 percent to close at 748.05. Tracked housing stocks closed mixed or even in today’s trading. Cavco Industries, Inc. was the biggest gainer of stocks we follow, edging up +1.56 percent, +1.22 points, to end the trading day at 79.25. Skyline Corp. slipped the most of tracked stocks, -0.95 points, -0.051 percent, to close at 5.30. Affiliated Managers Group 186.44 +1.18 (+0.64%). Clayton Homes, Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, as well as MH home-building, lending and other housing suppliers parent company Berkshire Hathaway 190,720 +1,238.00 points (+0.65%). Deer Valley remained unchanged at 0.65. Drew Industries, Inc. 51.75 +0.56 (+1.09%). Equity LifeStyle Properties 40.96 -0.18 (-0.45%). Liberty Homes remained unchanged at 0.80. Louisiana Pacific Corp. 15.89 +0.18 (+1.15%). Nobility Homes remained unchanged at 11.00. Patrick Industries, Inc. 42.54 +0.34 (+0.87%). Sun Communities, Inc. 44.39 +0.18 (+0.41%). Third Avenue Value Fund (April 21) 58.40 +0.04 (+0.07%). UMH Properties 9.91 -0.01 (-0.10%). Universal Forest Products, Inc. 53.57 +0.57 (+1.08%) ##

(Graphic credit: CNNMoney and RealTick)