Yahoo Finance Stocks higher on solid industrial production data
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 percent) at 13,999.88.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 2.77 points (0.18 percent) to 1,524.15, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite increased 6.94 (0.22 percent) 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 percent pace.
The data suggests that the initial government estimate of a 0.1 percent contraction in the economy last quarter could be revised upward.
Markets were also looking ahead to a G-20 meeting in Moscow today. 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 percent after increasing its profit forecast for 2013.
CBS Corp. jumped 3.8 percent after reporting record results and announcing a $1 billion accelerated share repurchase plan.
Herbalife was up 12.2 percent after corporate raider Carl Icahn disclosed a 12.98 percent stake in the company.
Food company JM Smucker rose 1.2 percent after reporting a big increase in profits.
IPG Photonics Corp., which manufactuers laser products, fell 11.3 percent after earnings came in lower than expected.
The yield on the 10-year bond rose to 2.01 from 2.00 late Thursday, while the 30-year was unchanged at 3.18. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
