U.S. durable-goods orders rise 3.3% in April

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)
Orders for big-ticket U.S. goods rose 3.3% in April, led by higher demand for aircraft, military wares and autos
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected orders to rise 1.4%
Stripping out the volatile transportation sector, orders rose a smaller 1.3%, the Commerce Department said
Orders for core capital goods, a key barometer of private-sector business investment, climbed 1.2% and marked the second straight gain
Yet shipments of core capital goods, a category used to calculate quarterly gross domestic product, fell 1.5% in April, setting up the second quarter to show weaker growth compared to the first three months of the year
Orders for March, meanwhile, were revised up to a 5.9% decline from a prior reading of a 6.9% drop
In the past four months, orders for durable goods have risen an unadjusted 0.7% compared to the same period in 2012
Core orders are up 1.8% on the same basis