NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Signs of continued strength in the housing market and a recovery in the U.S. currency gave a modest lift to stock markets early Wednesday.

At around 9:35 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average (up 9.80 to 9633.96, Charts), the Standard & Poor's 500 (up 1.46 to 1035.61, Charts) index and the Nasdaq composite (up 7.72 to 1889.47, Charts) all traded just above breakeven

The major indexes fell for seven out of the previous eight sessions as investors played it cautious after the market's big run this year. Tuesday's selloff was sparked in part by a plunge in the dollar, which fell to an all-time low versus the euro, and also dipped versus the yen. The dollar recovered Wednesday, edging up against both the yen and euro, aided in part by rumors that the Japanese government had intervened to stem the greenback's fall.

A surge in both housing starts and building permits added to the positive mood, providing evidence that the booming housing market continues to thrive. The pace of housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.96 million units in October, after rising a revised 1.91 million units in September. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected a fall to a 1.85 million-unit pace.

Building permits rose to an annualized rate of 1.97 million units in October, after falling to a 1.87-million-unit pace in September. Economists expected permits at a pace of 1.85 million units.

In corporate news, discount broker Charles Schwab (SCH: down $0.31 to $11.11, Research, Estimates) said it will buy smaller rival SoundView Technology (SNDV: up $2.12 to $15.37, Research, Estimates) for $325 million in cash.

European markets were lower at midday there, while Asian stocks closed lower Wednesday.

Treasury prices were little changed, with the 10-year note yield holding at 4.14 percent.

Brent oil futures fell 45 cents to $30.02 a barrel in London. COMEX gold fell 70 cents to $396.90.