Amazon.com ( ) and American Express ( ) are among many companies on tap to report results tonight after the bell.

Stocks close higher as positive company news and home sales data overshadowed an earlier report showing a gain in weekly jobless benefits claims. The tech-heavy Nasdaq expands its run to 12 sessions.

The National Association of Realtors said sales of previously occupied homes rose 3.6% from May to June. It was the third straight monthly increase and fed investors' hopes that the overall economy is strengthening.

This put investors in a bullish mood, erasing any pressure from an earlier Labor Department report showing first-time claims rebounded by 30,000 to 554,000. The less-volatile four-week moving average of initial claims fell by 19,000, to 566,000. Continuing claims for unemployment benefits fell during the week ending July 11, by 88,000 to 6.22 million.

Mergers and acquisitions news also contributed to the upbeat mood. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and Medarex (MEDX) announced the companies have signed a definitive merger agreement providing for the acquisition of Medarex by Bristol-Myers Squibb, for $16.00 per share or $2.4 billion in cash.

Earnings news continues to flow in with mostly upside surprises.

AT&T ( ) reported Q2 revs of $30.7 bln, ahead of expectations of $30.6 bln. EPS was $0.54 per share, three cents ahead of the analyst mean on Thomson Reuters.

Fifth Third Bank ( ) gained after swinging to a Q2 profit. It reports Q2 EPS of $1.15 vs a loss of $0.37 in the same period a year ago. The Thomson Reuters mean analyst estimate was for a loss of $0.34, but it's not clear if that figure is directly comparable. Q2 income included an after tax gain of $1.10 billion from the completion of the previously announced processing business transaction with Advent International.