NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks edged higher Wednesday morning, as investors flirted with pushing the Dow industrials to a new all-time high, but struggled a bit amid higher oil prices and a surprise drop in durable goods orders.

The Dow (up 4.00 to 11,673.39, Charts) added 0.2 percent in the early going. On Tuesday, it ended at a 6-1/2 year high that put it just 53.59 points short of its all-time high of 11,722.98, hit on Jan. 14, 2000.

The broader S&P 500 (down 0.16 to 1,336.18, Charts) added a few points after ending the previous session at its best point since Feb. 2001.

The Nasdaq composite (down 1.81 to 2,259.53, Charts) was a bit higher as well.

A surprisingly strong consumer confidence report gave stocks a leg up Tuesday, enabling the Dow and S&P 500 to take out their 2006 highs - hit in May.

After tumbling through mid-summer, stocks have been moving higher over the last few weeks on bets that falling oil prices and slower, but not too slow, economic growth mean the nation is not heading for a recession, but just a "soft landing."

A surprisingly weak read on August durable goods orders initially seemed to challenge those bets, as it suggested that perhaps the economy is slowing more than expected.

However, after a dip at the open, stocks again recharged the advance.

U.S. light crude oil for November delivery rose 40 cents to $61.41 a barrel in in electronic trading.

COMEX gold for December delivery rose $2.90 to $600 an ounce.

Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.55 percent from 4.58 percent late Monday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar gained versus the yen and euro.

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