It looks like investors slept peacefully after Halloween: The Dow (^DJI +0.63%) and the broader S&P 500 (^GSPC +1.02%) are up 1.1% and 0.94%, respectively, as of 10:25 a.m. EDT.
If you're looking for indications on the state of the housing market, Mohawk Industries (MHK +1.47%) will be reporting earnings after the close of today's session. At a market value of less than $6 billion, Mohawk is a mid-cap stock, but the company is one of the top suppliers of carpet and flooring for residential and commercial applications.
Incidentally, the world's largest carpet manufacturer is Shaw Industries, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B). As I noted earlier this morning, Warren Buffett is betting on a recovery in the U.S. housing market by lending Berkshire's name to a network of residential real-estate agents in a joint venture with Brookfield Asset Management (BAM +3.68%). Buffett has said he's seen an uptick in the residential housing market, and Berkshire expects to hire 8,000 people this year.
In his September premium report, the Fool's value maven, Joe Magyer, wrote that "the range of outcomes with Berkshire's stock today skews deeply in investors' favor." Click here to receive Joe's in-depth report on the stock, which includes a full year of coverage (which will come in handy in decrypting tomorrow's earnings report).
Also reporting after the bell is American International Group (AIG +1.27%), which is also a favorite among value-oriented investors.
