New-home sales climbed 4.7% during February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 337,000, the first month-to-month increase since July, the Commerce Department said. The data marked another favorable sign for the housing market, but prices continued to decline. The median price of a new home tumbled 18% in February from a year earlier to $200,900. The median price in January was $206,800.

In another positive sign for the economy, an earlier report from the Commerce Department showed durable-goods orders unexpectedly climbed 3.4% during February.