Stocks gain ground at open

Wall Street rises on encouraging news from the manufacturing sector. Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks attempted a comeback Friday, opening higher as investors cheered a better-than-expected report on the manufacturing sector. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.3%, and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index index gained 0.3% from Thursday's close. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 0.5%. Stocks tumbled Thursday, dragged by financials, as dour reports on the housing market and employment renewed investors fears about a prolonged economic slump. The Dow lost 283 points, and all of the major gauges tumbled about 2%. In the news Friday: Manufacturing: Orders for durable manufactured goods rose unexpectedly in June, according to a U.S. Commerce Department report... [read full story]