* Ford jumps after posting better-than-expected results
* American Express up as profit falls but beat Street
* New-home sales fall, inventories plummet at record pace
* Dow, S&P up 0.9 pct, Nasdaq up 1.2 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news click []
(Updates to midmorning)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, April 24 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday
on better-than-expected results from companies including
American Express and Ford as reassuring data on manufacturing
and housing boosted hopes the recession is showing signs of
abating.
Struggling automaker Ford Motor Co <F.N> was among the
bright spots in a busy week for earnings reports, saying Friday
it was on track to at least break even in 2011, while credit
card company American Express Co <AXP.N> said Thursday results
beat expectations as it slashed costs.
Energy shares also gave a boost as the price of oil <CLc1>
rose above $51 a barrel. Chevron was among the Dow's biggest
lifts, up 2.2 percent to $66.98.
Government data showed durable goods orders slipped in
March, but fell far less than Wall Street expected. Sales of
new single-family homes dropped, but inventories plummeted at a
record pace.
Investors are keen for further signs the recession may be
moderating to build on the optimism that spurred the recent
rally from early March.
"The earnings news last night as well as this morning in
general appears to be relatively positive and, at the core, the
durable goods orders this morning also provided further
indication that the manufacturing sector is showing tentative
signs of improvement," said Michael Sheldon, chief market
strategist at RDM Financial in Westport, Connecticut.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> rose 72.64 points,
or 0.91 percent, to 8,029.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> gained 7.97 points, or 0.94 percent, to 859.89. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up 19.67 points, or 1.19
percent, at 1,671.88.
A concept paper on the government stress tests for the 19
biggest U.S. financial institutions is set to be released at 2
p.m. EST (1800 GMT), according to a source familiar with the
process.
The paper will describe regulators' evaluation of how the
institutions would fare if the economy took an even sharper
turn for the worse. The KBW Bank index <.BKX> was off nearly 1
percent.
Software giant Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> was among the
biggest lifts on the Nasdaq, up 7 percent at $20.24, after
reporting Thursday that its profit fell but investors cheered
efforts to cut costs and that the release of its Windows 7
operating system was on track.
Ford, mired in the deep auto sector downturn, posted a
smaller-than-expected loss and said it did not expect to seek
government loans. [ID:nN24400235) Ford also said it burned
through less cash that it did in the second half of last year,
sending its shares up more than 15.4 percent to $5.18.
American Express was the Dow's biggest boost, up 12.6
percent at $23.61.
But the latest earnings reports still showed the pressures
of the global economic slump, with diversified manufacturers
Honeywell International Inc <HON.N> and 3M Co <MMM.N> cutting
their full-year profit forecasts.
Shares Honeywell fell 3.7 percent to $31.18, while 3M added
2.3 percent to $55.47.
The S&P 500 index is off more than 1 percent for the week
and if it ends the week lower, it will snap a six-week streak
of gains. Since the bear market lows of early March, the index
is up about 27 percent.
(Reporting by Leah Schnurr)
