NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks rallied in morning trade Thursday, sending the Dow industrials above 9,000 for the first time since January, helped by upbeat earnings and news that U.S. sales of existing homes rose for a third straight month in June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.00% was up 151 points, or 1.7%, at 9,030. It last stood above 9,000 on Jan. 6. The S&P 500 index SPX, +0.68% rose 17 points, or 1.8%, to 971, while the Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.69% gained 34 points, or 1.8%, to 1,960.