Wall St higher on solid production data
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NEW YORK, Feb 15 AFP
February 16 2013, 02:23AM
US stocks opened higher Friday following a solid report on US industrial production in the fourth quarter.
About 35 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 26.49 points (0.19 per cent) at 13,999.88.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 2.77 points (0.18 per cent) to 1524.15, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite increased 6.94 (0.22 per cent) to 3,205.60.
The Federal Reserve reported that industrial production fell in January, but the final quarter of last year was much stronger than originally thought, with manufacturing expanding at a 1.9 per cent pace.
The data suggests that the initial government estimate of a 0.1 per cent contraction in the economy last quarter could be revised upward.
Markets were also looking ahead to a G-20 meeting in Moscow on Friday. The meeting is expected to focus on currency issues amid talks of a much-feared "currency war" among members.
Kraft Foods was up 0.2 per cent after increasing its profit forecast for 2013.
CBS Corp. jumped 3.8 per cent after reporting record results and announcing a $US1 billion ($A970.78 million) accelerated share repurchase plan.
Herbalife was up 12.2 per cent after corporate raider Carl Icahn disclosed a 12.98 per cent stake in the company.
Food company JM Smucker rose 1.2 per cent after reporting a big increase in profits.
IPG Photonics Corp., which manufactuers laser products, fell 11.3 per cent after earnings came in lower than expected.
