Stocks open higher on better manufacturing report
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street as investors respond to an encouraging sign on U.S. manufacturing.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose nine points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,875 in the first few minutes of trading Wednesday. That's about three points below the latest all-time high for the index set on March 7.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 79 points, or 0.5 percent, to 16,445. The Nasdaq composite rose 25 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,259.
Traders were encouraged by news that orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting manufactured goods rose in February by the largest amount since November. That followed a drop in January.
Discount retailer Five Below shot up 15 percent after reporting that its income beat analysts' expectations in the latest quarter.
