Stocks were rising after the Commerce Department said personal income rose 0.5% in March and personal spending increased by 0.6%. Today's results were just slightly higher than expected; analysts' expected personal income to rise 0.4% and personal spending to rise by 0.5%. March results were also slightly higher than February's report that showed personal income rose 0.4% and personal spending rose 0.9%. Equipment maker Caterpillar reported the best earnings of the day, topping analysts' estimates by 53 cents. Caterpillar reported first-quarter profit of $1.84 a share; the company raised its full year outlook from $6.00 to between $6.25 and $6.75 per share.
Stocks began the session with slight losses, but as the morning progressed and the data kept coming in, the tone changed and major indexes began to make gains. Oil prices rose today, along with gold which rose by almost $20. The dollar once again fell against other major currencies such as the euro, pound and the yen. With just under an hour remaining in the session, the Dow was at a gain of 50 points.
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