NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Wall Street got off to a solid start with stocks opening higher Thursday.

The Dow rose about 0.2 percent, moving further into record territory, and the Nasdaq and S&P 500 each climbed about 0.3 percent in the early minutes of the session.

Investors seem encouraged by strong earnings and economic news.

Exxon Mobil (Charts) said it made $10.5 billion in the third quarter, or $1.77 a share, well above analysts' forecasts. It was a 26 percent increase in earnings for the world's largest publicly traded oil company.

Analysts were looking for Exxon to make $9.68 billion in the quarter, or $1.59 a share, according to First Call.

On the economic front, the durable goods report before the bell showed that big ticket orders surged 7.8 percent, the biggest jump in durables orders since June 2000, adding to Wall Street's positive sentiment.

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