Stocks Gain on Stronger Economic Data

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, extending gains into a second day, after better-than-expected domestic economic data.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 92.34 points, or 0.74%, to 12,627.01. The S&P 500 rose 11.86 points, or 0.90%, to 1,331.85. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 21.26 points, or 0.74%, to 2,875.32.

Durable goods orders rose 1.1 percent last month on strong demand for transportation equipment, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. Economists had expected orders to rise just 0.4 percent.

Google Inc (NSQ:GOOG) took the wraps off its first tablet computer on Wednesday, looking to replicate its smartphone success in the tablet market despite tough competition from Apple Inc (NSQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NSQ:MSFT) and Amazon (NSQ:AMZN). The “Nexus 7” tablet, built by and co-branded with Taiwan’s Asus (TAI:2357), will begin selling for as low as $199 on the Google Play website and apps store from around mid-July.

Facebook Inc (FB.O) may be having trouble connecting with Wall Street.The financial houses behind Silicon Valley’s largest-ever coming-out party kicked off formal coverage of the company on Wednesday by warning about an uncertain business model, margin pressures and a difficult transition to mobile technology.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday charging Falcone with market manipulation, giving preferential treatment to several big investors who wanted to get their money out and borrowing cash from his hedge fund to pay personal expenses.