NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks drifted higher Thursday as investors digested a fresh batch of economic numbers on the last trading day before the Christmas holiday.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 23.50 to 10,839.39, Charts) rose 0.2 percent in the early going.

The Nasdaq composite (up 1.61 to 2,158.64, Charts) and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (up 1.84 to 1,211.41, Charts) index also saw gains about a half hour into the session.

On the economic front, durable goods orders rose more sharply than expected in November, gaining 1.6 percent, well ahead of the 0.7 percent economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast.

Consumer spending also rose in November, though at a more modest-than-expected 0.2 percent pace, the Commerce Department reported.

Personal income, meanwhile, ticked 0.3 percent higher in November, better than the expected 0.2 percent rise.

Oil prices fell further after tumbling 3 percent on Wednesday on a surprise increase in fuel inventories. Adding uncertainty to the oil picture, Russia's state-owned Rosneft bought the assets of oil giant Yukos, putting about 10 percent of all crude production under the Kremlin's control.

U.S. light crude futures sank 34 cents at $43.90 a barrel in electronic trading, taking this week's losses to 5 percent.

In corporate news, Fannie Mae's regulator is investigating the severance payments and bonuses of ousted CEO Franklin Raines and CFO Timothy Howard. Fannie Mae (down $0.72 to $71.20, Research) shares were under pressure after the opening bell.

Greeting card maker American Greetings said profits climbed to 78 cents a share from 60 cents a year earlier, above forecasts of 70 cents a share.

But the increase included the sale of the company's Magnivision reading glasses division, and excluding those discontinued operations earnings were 51 cents a share. American Greetings (down $1.18 to $26.73, Research) fell in early trading.

Linux software provider Red Hat reported fiscal third-quarter earnings rose to 6 cents a share, in line with analysts' consensus forecast, up from 2 cents a share a year ago. Revenues were weaker than expected, though, and Red Hat (down $1.36 to $13.71, Research) stock traded lower at the open.

PalmSource, which makes software for handheld computers, reported a fiscal second-quarter profit of 14 cents a share, or 21 cents a share excluding charges. The company had posted a loss of 3 cents a share for the same period a year ago. PalmSource (down $1.15 to $12.08, Research) fell sharply.

Treasury prices continued under pressure, lifting the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.21 percent, from 4.20 percent late Wednesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency markets, the euro hit a record high against the dollar, which also fell against the yen.

Gold prices climbed $1.30 to $442.70 an ounce.