US STOCKS-Wall St rises on strong U.S. data, financials

                                
 (Updates to afternoon, changes byline)
                                
 By Steven C. Johnson
                                
 NEW YORK, Aug 27 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday,
led by a rally in financial shares, after surprisingly strong
data on durable goods orders soothed some concern about the
economy.
                                
 Energy shares also gained with oil, which rose for the
third straight day on fears that Tropical Storm Gustav could
interrupt oil and natural gas output in the Gulf of Mexico.
                                
 Boeing Co. <BA.N> added more than 2 percent after the
Commerce Department said a 28 percent rise in orders for
civilian aircraft helped drive up demand for expensive
manufactured items in July. For details, see [ID:nN26355582]
                                
 Home finance companies Fannie Mae <FNM.N> and Freddie Mac
<FRE.N> led financials higher, rising for a third straight day
as a lack of government intervention eased shareholder concerns
that their investment would be wiped out.
                                
 "Fannie and Freddie are leading the way here, though
whether it's a dead cat bounce or something more meaningful
remains to be seen," said Paul Nolte, director of investments
at Hinsdale Associates in Hinsdale Illinois.
                                
 "(Financials) have been beaten down pretty good lately, so
people may be just viewing this as a trading opportunity given
current light volumes," he added.
                                
 An index of financial shares was up 1.2 percent <.GSPF>
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 104.30
points, or 0.91 percent, at 11,517.17. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was up 10.23 points, or 0.80 percent, at
1,281.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 25.72
points, or 1.09 percent, at 2,387.69.
                                
 Part of the rise in Fannie and Freddie shares was the
result of a midday rumor that Treasury was to make an
unspecified announcement about the two home finance companies.
A spokeswoman, however, later said Treasury had no plans to
announce anything about the two companies.
                                
 Fannie Mae, the largest source of U.S. home financing, rose
8.8 percent to $6.13, while shares of Freddie gained 12.9
percent to $4.48.
                                
 Shares of Bank of America <BAC.N>, the No. 2 U.S. bank,
were among the top boosts for the S&P and Dow, rising 1.9
percent to $29.59.
                                
 Boeing rose 2.4 percent to $65, while the resurgence in oil
prices boosted energy stocks, with Exxon Mobil <XOM.N> adding
0.5 percent to $80.38 and ConocoPhillips <COP.N> up 1.2 percent
at $83.60.
                                
 On Nasdaq, shares of Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. <AMLN.O>
fell more than 25 percent on news that the diabetes drug,
Byetta, that it sells with Eli Lilly & Co. <LLY.N> was linked
to four more deaths in pancreatitis patients, adding to two
deaths announced by federal regulators last week.
[ID:nN26362203]
                                
 Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. <BMY.N> and Pfizer Inc. <PFE.N>
fell after they said late Tuesday their apixaban blood clot
preventer failed its primary goal in a late-stage trial and
that they no longer plan to seek marketing approval for it next
year. Bristol-Myers was off 2.3 percent at $21.47 and Pfizer
fell 1.1 percent to $19.07. [ID:nN26375896]
 (Additional reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Kenneth
Barry)