Good economic data send stocks up

August 24, 2011 | 7:37am

Stocks rose again early Wednesday after new data showed that spending on durable goods rose more than expected.

The Dow Jones industrial average was recently up 32.70 points, or 0.3%, to 11,209.46 after being up more than 100 points earlier in the session.

A Commerce Department report showed that orders for things like cars and airplanes rose 4% in July, when analysts expected to see slower growth.

The figures cheered investors, though some market experts said the real test will come in the numbers from August, when businesses and consumers will have had time to react to the recent economic gloom.

The stock market has now been climbing for three straight days, including Tuesday's 322-point jump. Much of the optimism this week comes from investors looking forward to a Federal Reserve meeting on Friday at which the central bank's chairman, Ben Bernanke, could signal new measures to help prop up the economy.

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