Wall Street boosted by rising home prices US stocks roared higher in early activity, erasing nearly all the losses suffered late last week as investors reassessed the likelihood of imminent changes to Federal Reserve stimulus measures. The S&P 500 jumped 1.5 per cent to 1,674.15 just under an hour into trading in New York. The gains, which came after the US market was shut for a bank holiday on Monday, helped put the benchmark above its record closing highs but about 13 points away from its best intraday level. "From an economic perspective, we believe investors got ahead of the tapering, which we still think will most likely begin next year," said Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ. All 10 sectors on the S&P 500 traded higher, with cyclical companies that have higher exposure to the fortunes of the global economy leading the way. The financials and energy sector on the benchmark each gained 1.6 per cent. Shares in luxury jeweller Tiffany neared an all-time record high as the company said sales growth in its latest quarter exceeded expectations. Tiffany gained 4.9 per cent to $79.95. Fresh economic data showed that US home prices rose by 10.9 per cent in March, compared with a year earlier. The latest S&P/Case-Shiller report showed prices in Detroit and Las Vegas led the charge. Shares in the three largest publicly traded US homebuilders gained 1.8 per cent.