(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks finished higher on Wednesday as better-than-expected economic data boosted investor optimism. Trading was relatively thin ahead of Thursday's US Thanksgiving holiday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 30.69 points or 0.29% to finish at 10,464.40. The S&P 500 rose 4.98 points or 0.45% to end at 1,110.63. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 6.87 points or 0.32% to 2,176.05.
A release by Commerce Department showed that US consumer spending, which accounts for nearly two third of the economy, increased 0.4% in October. Personal income rose 0.2%. Economists expected consumer spending to rise 0.5% and personal income to increase 0.1% in October.
The Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment decreased to 67.4 from 70.6 in October. The reading was higher than the preliminary reading of 66 reported early this month.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that durable goods order declined 0.6% in October. Economists were looking for a gain of 0.5%.
In a separate release, the Commerce Department said that U.S. new home sales increased 6.2% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 430,000. Economists expected new home sales to climb to 405,000.
The Department of Labor on Thursday said that number of Americans filing first- time claims for unemployment benefits fell to 466,000 in the week ending November 21. Economists expected jobless claims to drop to 500,000. The four-week average of seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims, a less volatile gauge, decreased 2,750 to 500,000. Continuing claims for the week ending November 14 dropped 37,750,000 to 618 million.
Shares of airplane maker Boeing Co. (NYSE:
BA) rallied 96 cents or 1.85% to close at $52.93.
Equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:
CAT) gained $1.04 or 1.79% to $59.04.
Shares of chemical maker DuPont Co. (NYSE:
DD) advanced 48 cents or 1.38% to $35.15.
Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:
PFE) surged 28 cents or 1.53% to $18.59.
Shares of diversified media and entertainment firm Walt Disney (NYSE:
DIS) rose 38 cents or 1.26% to $30.61.
On the downside, shares of Kraft Foods (NYSE:
KFT), the largest US food company, lost 42 cents or 1.54% to close at $26.80.
Early on Wednesday, Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:
TIF) announced that its fiscal third-quarter net profit slipped 1% to $43.3 million, or 34 cents a share, from $43.8 million, or 36 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 33 cents a share. Revenue dropped 2.9% to $598.2 million. For the fiscal year Tiffany upped its earnings guidance to a range of $1.88 to $1.98 a share, from a range of $1.65 to $1.75 a share. The company anticipates total worldwide sales to drop around 8%. Shares rallied $2.06 or 4.92% to $43.89.
Shares of Deere & Co. (NYSE:
DE) rose $1.41 or 2.70% to $53.70 after it reported Wednesday that it swung to fiscal fourth-quarter net loss of $222.8 million, or 53 cents a share, from net income of $345 million, or 81 cents a share, in the prior-year period. On an adjusted basis, the farm equipment maker earned 23 cents a share. Revenue plunged 30% to $4.7 billion.
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, weekly survey mortgage applications were up a seasonally adjusted 9.6% for the week ended Nov. 20 from the week before.
European stocks settled higher. The UK FTSE gained 40.58 points or 0.59% to 5,323.96. The German DAX and French CAC increased 0.58% and 0.65% respectively.
Asian stocks finished up. The Nikkei 225 rose 40.06 points or 0.43% to 9,441.64. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong jumped 188.66 points or 0.84% to 22,611.80.
NYMEX crude oil for December delivery declined $1.98 or 2.6% to settle at $78 a barrel.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
