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NEW YORK, Sep 27 (Reuters) U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as worries about the outlook for profit growth failed to slow momentum after the Dow average came within sight of its all-time high in the prior session.

Before the open a report showed weakness in August durable goods orders that revived concern about corporate profits.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose to fresh 6-1/2-year high early.

Investors will be watching new home sales data, due at 10 a.m.

(1400 GMT) for signs of the economy's health. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a decline in sales.

Early gainers included shares of McDonald's Corp., which rose 1 percent to $39.44 on the New York Stock Exchange after the world's largest restaurant company raised its annual dividend 49 percent to $1 a share.

Among top decliners, shares of Red Hat Inc. dropped more than 21 percent to $20.51 on Nasdaq, a day after the distributor of open-source Linux software posted disappointing quarterly results.

For details, see ID:nN26376136 The Dow Jones industrial average was up 1.28 points, or 0.01 percent, at 11,670.67. The Standard&Poor's 500 Index was down 0.05 point, or 0.00 percent, at 1,336.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.53 points, or 0.02 percent, at 2,260.81.

Shares of Jabil Circuit Inc. gained 5 percent to $29.27 after the maker of electronic components for mobile phones and computers said it posted record fourth-quarter and full-year revenue on Tuesday. ID:nN9Q374946 REUTERS DKS PM1934