By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. stock market staged a late-morning rebound and moved higher, shaking off worries about Russia's military drills on the border with Ukraine.

Positive earnings from Apple Inc. and Caterpillar Inc. as well as an upbeat report on capital spending boosted sentiment.

An 8% jump in Apple Inc's shares, the heaviest-weighed stock on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, accounted for gains on both.

The S&P 500 (SPX) rose 6 points, or 0.1%, to 1,881.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) added 17 points, or 0.1%, to 16,529.05. The blue-chip index is less than 50 points off its all-time high closing level. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF), gained 23 points, or 0.6%, to 4,152.07.

Follow MarketWatch's live blog of today's stock-market action.

"Apple's earnings last night and durable goods orders this morning were driving the markets higher, up until Ukraine fears resurfaced," said Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones.

"Ukraine has been on the back burner and simmering, but today's headline news was a reminder to investors that the pot can sometimes boil over," she added.

Ahead of the market open, a jump in durable-goods orders outweighed a bigger-than-expected rise in weekly jobless claims, sending stock futures higher. Orders for durable goods such as computers, aircraft and heavy machinery jumped 2.6% in March and posted the biggest gain in four months, offering another sign that the U.S. economy might be on the upswing after a winter-induced lull. The jump was far above expectations.

The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week rose to the highest level in April, but most of the bump may have been related to a seasonal quirk tied to the Easter holiday.

At the center of attention, however, was Apple Inc., (AAPL)whose quarterly results topped Wall Street forecast and the company announced a 7-for-1 stock split. Also: Apple's split could pave way into Dow industrials, for whatever that's worth.

Shares jumped 8%, the best day for the stock since April 2012, when it rose 8.9% and accounted for more than a 4-point gain on the S&P 500, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indexes.

Facebook(FB) trimmed earlier gains and was 1.7% higher. The social network company posted first-quarter earnings that nearly tripled and revenue that jumped 72%, with both numbers blowing out forecasts.

Ahead of the open, economic bellwether Caterpillar (CAT) topped forecasts reporting a 4.8% increase in profits during the first quarter. Shares rose 2.9%. But CEO and chairman Doug Oberhelman is concerned about the situation in Ukraine.

"We are very concerned about the situation in Ukraine and Russia. We are hoping for a peaceful resolution, but business confidence around the world could dampen, and trade and world GDP could slow should the situation deteriorate. The global economy remains fragile, and as such, one or two setbacks could create substantial downside risk for the global economic recovery."

General Motors (GM.XX) shares rose 1.5% after the company saw a profit drop on recall charges, but far exceeded analyst expectations, with earnings of 29 cents a share and revenue of $37.4 billion.

Aetna Inc. (AET) rose 5.3% after its results, and 3M (MMM) slipped 1.5% after missing expectations on revenue.

Shares of Zimmer Holdings Inc. (ZMH) jumped 15% on news it will buy Biomet in a deal valued at $13.35 billion.

On the downside, shares of Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM)fell 4.2% after the wireless-technology firm reported an earnings view that beat forecasts, but missed on sales.

Among companies reporting after the closing bell are Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN). Microsoft earnings: First time for new CEO Nadella.

Overseas, Wall Street's pullback drove some losses across Asia, with the Nikkei 225 index off nearly 1%. In Europe most benchmarks rebounded from losses and moved higher.

In other markets, crude-oil prices (CLM4) rose, while gold (GCM4) also gained and the ICE dollar index (DXY), a gauge of its strength against six rivals, slipped.

More must-reads from MarketWatch:

Apple CEO Tim Cook discusses earnings, buyback, China, iPhone sales (recap)

Will Apple's cash return get Icahn to shut up?

Seven cars later, here's how 'Tesla Jens' earns his nickname

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Starbucks Charts.
Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Starbucks Charts.