Apple earnings, expanded buyback lead US stocks higher

Apple's shareholder-friendly measures including a stock split and an expanded buyback helped lead US shares higher in opening trade Thursday.

Five minutes into trade, Apple shares rose nearly 8 percent, pulling the Nasdaq Composite up 40.42 (0.98 percent) to 4,167.38.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 32.37 points (0.20 percent) to 16,534.02, while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 7.16 (0.38 percent) to 1,882.55.

Apple, the largest US company in terms of market capitalization, announced quarterly earnings after the market closed late Wednesday that bested earnings expectations by a wide margin.

It also announced a dividend increase, a ramp-up in stock buybacks and a seven-for-one stock split.

The market was also cheered by a strong report on US durable goods orders Thursday, which rose in March by 2.6 percent to $234.8 billion.

That was well above the analyst estimate for a 2.0 percent increase, thanks to commercial aircraft, communications equipment, primary metals and computers.