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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 4:08 a.m., Thursday, March 26, 2009

Stocks open higher after economic, corporate data

By TIM PARADIS
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are higher in early trading after an upbeat profit report from Best Buy Co. and new unemployment numbers are adding to a sense that the economy might be finding its footing.

The report from Best Buy is boosting hopes that consumer spending might have more resilience than some analysts feared.

Readings on the nation's economic output and weekly unemployment claims gave mixed signals about the economy. But the numbers still largely supported a growing notion in the market the past two weeks that the economy might be showing nascent signs of stabilizing.

In the early going, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 82 at 7,832. The Standard & Poor's 500 is up 11 at 825, while the Nasdaq composite index is up 28 at 1,557.