Global stocks, bonds up after data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data boosted stocks on Friday while bonds held early gains and the dollar fell.

European stocks also got a lift from the U.S. data.

Before the open of regular U.S. stock trading, the Commerce Department said U.S. durable goods orders rose a stronger-than-expected 5.9 percent in July.

Another report said that U.S. new home sales rose 2.8 percent last month, also exceeding expectations.

The new home sales data "showed the economy may not be quite as weak as expected. We had some quite strong numbers today, that's for sure, but we don't know if they'll last long enough to boost the markets," said David Sloan, economist at 4Cast Ltd in New York.

At 12 p.m. the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 37.40 points, or 0.28 percent, at 13,273.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 4.06 points, or 0.28 percent, at 1,466.56 and the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 7.74 points, or 0.30 percent, at 2,549.44.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were 6/32 higher with the yield down three basis points to 4.63 percent. Analysts noted that the U.S. data was nearly a month old and did not reflect recent events.

The euro was up 0.5 percent at $1.3637 and the dollar was down 0.3 percent at 115.94 yen. Continued concerns about a credit crunch and liquidity overshadowed the U.S. data.

European stocks pared losses after the U.S. durable goods data and subsequently turned higher.