Stocks jumped Friday, with all three major indexes finishing with gains, on a stronger than expected report on U.S. durable-goods orders, and as gold prices hit a record high above $1,300 an ounce. The government said durable goods orders, a measure of manufacturing, fell 1.3 percent in August after falling 0.7 percent in July. However, excluding transportation orders, durable goods orders rose last month. New home sales remained at the second-lowest level on record in August at an annual rate of 288,000, the government reported. The data comes a day after existing home sales came in slightly above expectations. --MORE
