Stocks open higher after rise in factory orders

NEW YORK -- Stocks opened higher Wednesday after Wall Street got another sign that its gloomy forecast for the economy might be overdone.

The government reported that demand for durable manufactured goods rose in February rather than fell as economists had predicted. Data on durable goods orders can be fickle but the surprise increase is still welcome news for the troubled economy.

It will take months of improving data before analysts can safely assert that the economy is on the mend. But many traders are anxious for any signs the economy is at least halting its slide.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 2.73% from 2.71% late Tuesday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.20% from 0.17% Tuesday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Oil prices fell $1.29 to $52.69 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.