Bulls off and running, Dow over 13,000

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks jumped in the first moments of trade Wednesday as investors pushed the Dow over the 13,000 level after better-than-expected economic figures and good corporate earnings.

The Dow Nasdaq and S&P all rose in the early going.

A government report on durable goods orders showed stronger-than-expected demand for big-ticket items, as the 3.4 percent gain was well above the 2.5 percent rise forecast by economists. The February reading was also revised up to a 2.4 percent gain from the original reading of a 1.7 percent gain, and a key measure of business spending in the report showed the best gain since September 2004.

At 10 a.m. the Census Bureau will release its reading on new home sales and prices in March. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that new home sales rebounded slightly from the slowest pace in six years in February, rising to an annual rate of 890,000 from 848,000 in the February report.

Dow component Boeing (Charts, Fortune 500) reported better-than-forecast earnings.

Oil prices were up in early trading ahead of the 10:30 a.m. ET report on U.S. fuel inventories. U.S. light crude gained 38 cents to $64.96 a barrel in electronic trading.

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