Stocks rise on strong auto sales, factory orders
4/2/2013NEW YORK -- Stocks are trading at record highs again following strong reports on auto sales and factory orders.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 92 points, or 0.6 percent, to 14,665 at midday today.
The Standard & Poor's 500 rose nine points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,571. The Nasdaq composite rose 22, or 0.7 percent, to 3,261.
Chrysler said it sold more cars and trucks in March than in any month since the Great Recession began. Its sales rose 5 percent, while U.S. sales for GM and Ford rose 6 percent.
Orders to U.S. factories rose 3 percent in February, the best gain in five months.
Health insurance companies rose after the government released revised Medicare Advantage rates that suggest funding cuts will be less severe than analysts and companies had feared.