U.S. stocks gain on data, HP earnings; Dow up 0.15%
Published Nov 27, 2013 04:07PM ET
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day up 0.15%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.25%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.67%.
The University of Michigan said earlier that its index of overall consumer sentiment was revised up to 75.1 in November from a preliminary estimate of 72.0.
Economists had expected the index to be revised up to 73.5.
The report was released two days in advance due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
Also on Wednesday, the Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week declined by 10,000 to a two-month low of 316,000. Economists had forecast an increase of 4,000.
The jobs data was released one day early due to the U.S. holiday.
The upbeat data offset a report showing that U.S. durable goods orders fell 2% in October, worse than expectations for a 1.9% decline, while core durable goods orders were down 0.1%, compared to expectations for a 0.5% increase.
Wednesday's indicators boosted hopes for a more robust U.S. recovery, while on the flip side, market participants also traded on expectations for the Federal Reserve to keep its monthly bond-buying program in place through early 2014.
Ultra-loose monetary policies such as monthly bond purchases boost stock prices by driving down interest rates.
Separately computer maker Hewlett-Packard earlier reported fourth-quarter net income of USD1.01 per share and revenue of USD29.1 billion, both of which beat Wall Street consensus forecasts
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Intel, up 1.04%, IBM, up 1.03%, and 3M, up 0.93%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included McDonald's, down 1.15%, Walt Disney, down 0.60%, and Exxon Mobil, also down 0.51%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished higher.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.65%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.36%, while Germany's DAX 30 rose 0.66%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.20%.
U.S. markets will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.
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Written By: Investing.com
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