US stocks head higher

U.S. stocks rose in New York Thursday morning on strong economic data on durable goods and labor. The Census Bureau News said durable goods orders rose 9.9 percent in September compared to August, far exceeding the consensus forecast that called for a 6.9 percent gain. The Labor Department said first-time jobless benefit claims dropped in the week ending Saturday. Weekly jobless claims figures have been especially volatile of late, falling by 30,000 to a 56-month low two weeks ago and shooting up by 46,000 last week. Claims this week dropped by 23,000 to 369,000, the department said. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average added 39.63 points, 0.3 percent, to 13,116.97. The Nasdaq composite index gained 11.38 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,991.85. The Standard and Poor's 500 index reclaimed 4.09 points, 0.29 percent, to 1,412.84. The benchmark 10-year treasury note fell 11/32 to yield 1.831 percent. The euro fell to $1.2956 from Wednesday's $1.2973. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 80.19 yen from 79.81 yen. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index added 1.13 percent, 100.90 points, to 9,055.20.