RPT-US STOCKS-Wall St gains, lifted by energy shares

                                
 * New home sales weaker-than-expected
                                
 * Durable goods orders rise more than expected
                                
 * Initial claims down, continuing claims hit record
                                
 * GM says amended offer to bondholders is accepted
                                
 * Dow up 0.6 pct; S&P up 1.0 pct, Nasdaq up 0.5 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news click [STXNEWS/US]
  (Reapeats with no changes to text)
                                
 By Chuck Mikolajczak
                                
 NEW YORK, May 28 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday,
as a rise in oil prices boosted energy shares, overshadowing
mixed economic data on housing sales and manufacturing orders.
                                
 Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N> was one of the top boosts to the
blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average -- up 1 percent to
$68.98 -- after oil rose to nearly $65 per barrel on a report
showing crude oil stocks fell more than expected last week.
                                
 Dow member General Motors Corp. rose after it said major
bondholders had agreed to a debt-for-equity exchange, helping
to counter uncertainty of the spillover effects onto the
broader economy of a contentious bankruptcy filing by the
largest U.S. automaker.
                                
 "It does make a difference if it's pre-packaged and it's
easier than if the bondholders are contesting it, there is no
question about that," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment
strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.
                                
 "But there's still a lot of uncertainty about how this
thing is going to come down and what it's going to mean for
jobs and dealerships and everything else."
                                
 Economic data was mixed, with weekly jobless claims and
durable goods orders signaling a stabilizing economy while new
home sales data indicated ongoing weakness in the housing
market.
                                
 Sales of newly built U.S. single-family homes rose less
than expected for April, with the previous month's figures
revised downward to show a steeper decline. For details, see
[ID:nN28225440]
                                
 The Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction index <.DJUSHB>
slumped 5 percent.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 50.02
points, or 0.60 percent, to 8,350.04. The Standard & Poor's 500
Index <.SPX> rose 8.53 points, or 0.96 percent, to 901.59. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 7.96 points, or 0.46
percent, to 1,739.04.
                                
 Wall Street was buoyed by government data that showed new
orders for long-lasting U.S. goods rose more than expected in
April, while the number of workers filing new claims for
jobless pay dropped by 13,000 last week. [ID:nN27221554]
[ID:nN28314799]
                                
 GM <GM.N> shares rose 11.3 percent to $1.28, as the company
reached a deal with some major bondholders that would give them
a bigger stake in a reorganized automaker and could pave the
way for a fast-track bankruptcy backed by the U.S. Treasury
[ID:nSP402834]
                                
 Economists have been concerned about the far-reaching
implications of a GM bankruptcy on the auto industry and the
economy. Auto parts makers Visteon Corp <VSTN.PK> and Metaldyne
filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday.
[ID:nLS306445]
                                
 A disappointing outlook from consumer products maker
Procter & Gamble Co and earnings results from wholesale
retailer Costco Wholesale Corp continued to paint a picture of
a weak economy, however.
                                
 Costco <COST.O> slid 4 percent to $46.87 after the retailer
reported its third-quarter profit fell 29 percent, as shoppers
stuck to buying basic such as food and medicine and curbed
discretionary purchases of clothes and jewelry.
 [ID:nN28409659]
                                
 Dow component Procter & Gamble <PG.N> shares slid 0.6
percent to $51.47 after the household products maker gave
guidance for 2010 that was well below Wall Street estimates.
[ID:nN28309342]
                                
 Also on the earnings front, H.J. Heinz <HNZ.N> slipped 0.7
percent to $36 after the ketchup maker reported a quarterly
profit that matched Wall Street estimates but issued full-year
guidance that fell short of expectations. [ID:nN28309240]
                                
 The market looked set to recover some ground lost after
Wednesday's sharp drop as rising yields on U.S. government debt
fueled concern that businesses and consumers would face higher
borrowing costs, hampering an economic recovery.
                                
 With recent declines on Wall Street, the Dow has trimmed
its gains to 27 percent on the Dow and nearly 33 percent on the
S&P 500 since hitting 12-year lows on March 9.
  (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)