U.S. stocks rallied, led by banking and energy shares, as a rebound in 10?year Treasuries eased concern record government debt sales will trigger higher borrowing costs and oil climbed to a six?month high. Orders for durable goods, while lingering near a 13?year low, did increase more than forecast in April, adding to evidence that the recession is easing. Orders climbed 1.9% from the previous month after a revised 2.1% drop in March.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said the U.S. delinquency rate jumped to a seasonally adjusted 9.12% and the share of loans entering foreclosure rose to 1.37%, both the highest in records going back to 1972. A separate report from the Commerce Department showed that new?home sales increased 0.3% to an annual pace of 352,000 in April, slower than the 1.1% growth forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

General Motors Corp., the world’s largest automaker until its 77?year reign ended in 2008, plans to file for bankruptcy protection on June 1 and sell most of its assets to a new company, people familiar with the matter said. The bankruptcy probably would last 60 to 90 days.

Oil topped $65 a barrel as OPEC left production quotas unchanged. Japan’s industrial output surged the most in 56 years in April as a rebound in exports helps the economy emerge from its worst recession since World War II.

Production rose 5.2% from March, the second monthly gain, the Trade Ministry said today in Tokyo. The increase was faster than the 3.3% economists estimated, and companies said they planned to boost output in May and June as well.

China’s growth prospects have improved from three months ago, even after accounting for drops in steel and electricity output and the risk of a manufacturing contraction this month, economists’ forecasts show. The world’s third?largest economy will expand 7.5% this year, according to the median estimate of 14 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, up from a 7.1% forecast in February. Gross domestic product expanded 6.1% in the first quarter, the slowest pace in almost 10 years.

Asian markets are up on better?than?forecast report on Japanese industrial production and higher GDP growth forecasted for China. Indian markets are also likely to open positive and continue to remain positive during the day.