Stocks Opened Higher on Apple

U.S. stocks opened sharply higher Wednesday as Apple Inc.’s blow-out quarter lifted the Nasdaq above the 3,000 level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 92.87 points, or 0.71%, to 13,094.43. The S&P 500 advanced 17.18 points, or 1.25%, to 1,389.15. The Nasdaq Composite surged 67.35 points, or 2.27%, to 3,028.95.

Demand for long-lasting manufactured goods was the weakest in three years in March and a gauge of business spending plans fell, suggesting the economy lost momentum as the first quarter drew to a close. Durable goods orders dropped 4.2 percent, the largest decline since January 2009, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday after a downwardly revised 1.9 percent increase in February.

The impending shutdown of the Nextel network doubled Sprint Nextel Corp.’s loss in the first quarter, as it wrote down the value of the network and subscribers kept leaving it.

Caterpillar Inc (CAT) reported a 29 percent rise in first-quarter profit on Wednesday and beat analyst expectations as the company relied on its growing mining business and sales to buyers looking to replace aging equipment.

Boeing Co posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by an increase in commercial airplane deliveries, and the world’s largest aerospace and defense company raised its earnings forecast for the year.