U.S. stocks rose broadly on Wednesday as durable goods orders jumped unexpectedly, reinforcing the belief the economy was healing, while quarterly results from software maker Oracle boosted technology shares.

New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods increased by a much stronger-than-expected 1.8 percent in May, and the median price of new homes hit its highest level since December, even though sales dipped, economic data showed.

The market had a lot going for it today; the durable goods data was the spark it needed, said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Robert W. Baird & Co in Nashville, Tennessee.

... There was a lot of concern about the economy and all of a sudden the economy shows some signs of life, and so does the market.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 60.46 points, or 0.73 percent, to 8,383.37. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 12.03 points, or 1.34 percent, to 907.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 35.74 points, or 2.03 percent, to 1,800.66.

Investors awaited a statement from the Federal Reserve, due at around 2:15 p.m. EDT, for clues on how the U.S. central bank assesses the economy.

Technology shares rose after better-than-expected quarterly profit and sales from Oracle Corp . The software maker was among the Nasdaq's leaders, up 9.2 percent at $21.70.

The PHLX semiconductor index <.SOXX> jumped 2 percent.

An additional spur came after the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said the economic outlook has improved for the first time in two years.

But the OECD warned soaring unemployment and ballooning budget deficits could knock a weak recovery off track, referring to its 30 member countries.

On the downside, Boeing Co stock fell 2.5 percent to $42.79 after Morgan Stanley downgraded the planemaker's shares to equal-weight, saying it expects the first delivery of the Dreamliner to be delayed to 2011.

On Tuesday, Boeing postponed the first test flight of its 787 plane for the fifth time.

Though stocks rose sharply from March to May, gains have stalled recently as investors sought signs the economy is recovering, justifying the equities' rally. The broad S&P 500 index is up about 34 percent from a 12-1/2-year low in early March, although it soared as much as 40 percent.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Tennessee