Stocks turn higher as investors sift through data

The dollar was lower against most other major currencies, and gold prices rose.

In deal-making news, CBS Corp. agreed to buy online technology news and entertainment company CNet Networks Inc. for about $1.75 billion. The owner of the CBS television network and TV stations said the deal will boost its online presence and allow it to tap the growing market for online advertising.

CBS fell 97 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $23.85, while CNet rose $3.47, or 44 percent, to $11.42.

General Electric Co. plans to auction off its Louisville, Ky.-based appliances business, according to The Wall Street Journal. GE has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to run an auction for the appliance division, according to the newspaper, which quoted unidentified sources. The sale is seen yielding between $5 billion and $8 billion. GE slid 13 cents to $32.38.

Meanwhile, IAC/InterActiveCorp's Ask.com has bought a stable of Internet reference sites that includes Dictionary.com in its latest effort to distinguish itself from online search leader Google Inc. and other much larger rivals. IAC/InterActiveCorp fell 22 cents to $23.51.

But as companies find the corporate climate more operation, another concern remains: whether higher food and energy costs are hampering Americans' ability to spend.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude prices surpassed $125 a barrel, climbing back toward record levels.

J.C. Penney's quarterly profit came in a bit better than expected, helping its shares rise $1.40, or 3 percent, to $45.65, but it said a pullback in consumer spending cut its first-quarter profit in half, and predicted "difficult" conditions for the entire year.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 1.70, or 0.23 percent, to 737.77.

Advancing issues had a modest lead over decliners on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 441.4 million shares.