NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks climbed at Thursday's open, building on Wednesday's late-session rebound, after surprisingly upbeat economic data soothed investors' nerves, helping them further shrug off the latest accounting scandal.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 72.41 points, or 0.79 percent, to 9,192.52, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gained 7.06 points, or 0.73 percent, to 980.59. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 20.4 points, or 1.43 percent, at 1,449.73.

"These numbers support the view that the economy is on a recovery path," said Richard Cripps, chief market strategist at Legg Mason Wood Walker. "What has been holding the market back are these confidence issues, and to the extent that that is nursed, the market should move higher."

The U.S. government said the economy raced ahead at its fastest clip in more than two years in the first quarter, up from earlier estimates, amid better-than-expected consumer spending and business investment.

U.S. phone company WorldCom Inc.'s
WCOME.O disclosure of nearly $4 billion in improperly booked expenses sent the market into a tailspin on Wednesday as it shook investors' trust in Corporate America. But investors stepped in to buy beaten-down shares and the battered Nasdaq market ended with a slim gain.