NEW YORK — The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up for the year. And for once, it was the housing market that sent stocks soaring.

The S&P 500, considered Wall Street's most important indicator, bounded up 3.4 percent yesterday and erased the last of its losses for 2009.

A double dose of good housing news ignited the advance: Pending U.S. home sales rose more than forecast and had their second straight monthly gain, while construction spending rose unexpectedly in March after five straight declines.