NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Tuesday, led by financial and housing shares, after home resales rose in April to their highest annual rate in nearly two years in another sign that the housing market may be on the road to recovery. But gains were capped as Facebook shares lost about 20 percent of the online social network's IPO price in just two days following its market debut, and as a downgrade on Japan from Fitch heightened concerns about the global economic growth. The S&P 500 financial sector index was up 1.6 percent. Bank of America Corp rose 3.4 percent to $7. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Home resales rose in April to their highest annual rate in nearly two years and a falloff in foreclosures pushed prices higher, hopeful signs for the country's economic recovery. The National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday that existing home sales increased 3.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.62 million units last month, the highest since May 2010. "The housing market is showing some signs of life," said Gary Thayer, a macro strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis. Nationwide, the median price for a home resale jumped to $177,400 in April, up 10. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Commission will look into the "appropriateness and completeness" of JPMorgan Chase & Co's financial reporting, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro told the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. Earlier this month, JPMorgan said it had lost at least $2 billion - a figure that's expected to grow - on trades tied to credit derivatives. Schapiro said her agency's probe will focus on the accuracy of the company's first-quarter financial and earnings statements. ...

(Reuters) - Facebook's shares fell again on Tuesday, leaving them down nearly one-third from Friday's highs as questions mounted over the company's financial prospects and its ability to grow fast enough to meet the hype surrounding its stock. After Friday's nearly flat close and Monday's 11 percent plunge, the stock tumbled again Tuesday -- 4.2 percent to $32.60 in the first 90 minutes of trading. That was a decline of 28 percent from Friday's high of $45, but well off its lows of the morning. Volume was again massive, with more than 45 million shares traded as of around 11 a.m. ...

BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) - Germany dismissed a French-led call for euro zone governments to issue common bonds, a day before a European Union summit which investors are looking to for new measures to counter the bloc's debt crisis. After a torrid week, stock markets rallied on optimism that the Wednesday summit would produce measures to foster growth and ward off the threat of contagion should Greece exit the euro. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed up 1.9 percent and Spanish and Italian borrowing costs fell, leaving scope for disappointment if the EU leaders underwhelm. ...