Housing-Related Stocks Jump as Lowe's Surprises, Lennar Upgraded to Buy, NAHB Sentiment Data In-Line (XHB, LOW, LEN, HD)

The Homebuilder/Housing sector is one of the best performing groups amid today's triple digit rally in the Dow. The sector, as measured by the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (NYSE: XHB), is up nearly 6% today on the back of several noteworthy data points:

• better-than-expected Q1 earnings out of home improvement retailer Lowe's (NYSE: LOW). The company also issued Q2 and FY09 guidance that was better than what the Street had been expecting. Shares of Lowe's will close today's trading session up about 7.6%. Also, similarly, traders are anticipating quarterly results out of the other home improvement retailer, Home Depot (NYSE: HD) tomorrow. These results are expected out before the market opens.
  
• a Citi upgrade on homebuilder Lennar (NYSE: LEN) from Hold to Buy. The firm also boosted its price target by a dollar to $12. Shares of Lennar rallied more than 14% on the analyst call, which also boosted other homebuilding stocks.
  
• The National Association of Home Builders, or NAHB, released in-line data this afternoon, announcing that its Housing Market Index for the month of May came in at 16. While still extremely depressed, this level of sentiment marks the highest reading since September of last year.
  
• also on the economic data front, Housing Starts and Building Permits for the month of April are expected out tomorrow before the market opens. The Street is currently looking for starts of about 527,000, with building permits expected to be around 530,000.

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