Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday, as data showing that U.S. durable goods orders rose more than expected in March fuelled optimism over strength of the U.S. economic recovery.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow 30 added 0.12%, the S&P 500 rose 0.32%, while the NASDAQ Composite jumped 1.13%.
The Commerce Department reported that U.S. orders for long lasting manufactured goods rose 2.6% last month, ahead of expectations for a 2% gain.
Core durable goods orders, which exclude volatile transportation items, rose 2% in March, easily surpassing forecasts for a 0.6% gain.
Separately, the Labor Department said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose by 24,000 to 329,000. Despite the increase the underlying trend indicated continued strength in the labor market.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) saw shares surge 3.05% after the social-networking site late Wednesday reported first-quarter profit and revenue that blew past analysts’ estimates.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) also surprised investors by announcing that 43.7 million iPhones were purchased in the fiscal second quarter after the handset became available through the world’s largest wireless carrier, China Mobile.
The news sent shares in the tech giant up 8.13% at the open of the U.S. trading session.
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) rallied 3.77% after reporting stronger-than-expected earnings and raising its full-year outlook.
Elsewhere, shares in Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) slipped 0.24% as the world’s largest retail chain announced the retirement of two directors, including former Chief Executive Officer Lee Scott, reducing its board to 14 members.
The company was said to be making the changes ahead of its annual gathering of shareholders in June.
General Electric (NYSE:GE) added to losses, with shares slipping 0.19% amid reports it is in discussions to pay more than $13 billion for the French builder of trains and power plants, Alstom, in its biggest acquisition ever.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ), 3M (NYSE:MMM), General Motors (NYSE:GM), United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS), United Continental (NYSE:UAL) and Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX), scheduled to report quarterly results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 edged up 0.14%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.39%, Germany's DAX dropped 0.56%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.23%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.24%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 retreated 0.97%.