Stocks rose in light volume Wednesday following a drop in weekly unemployment claims to the lowest level of the year and a rise in new home sales.
Trading volume was thin ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Light volume can exacerbate swings in the market.
The Labor Department said new claims for unemployment insurance fell by 35,000 last week to 466,000. That’s the fewest claims since the week ending Sept. 13, 2008, and far better than the 500,000 that economists had expected.
The news suggest the job market is slowly healing, but concern remains the improvement will be temporary as the weak economy continues to push unemployment higher.
The jobless rate hit 10.2 percent in October and many analysts believe it will keep rising to 10.5 percent or higher before starting to improve next summer.
The Commerce Department said new home sales rose 6.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 430,000 from an upwardly revised 405,000 in September. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a pace of 410,000.
The Commerce Department, meanwhile, said consumer spending rose a brisk 0.7 percent last month, following a 0.6 percent drop in September. It was the best showing since a big 1.3 percent jump in August when the government’s now-defunct “Cash for Clunkers” programs enticed people to buy cars.
Not all the day’s news was upbeat. The Commerce Department also said orders for expensive manufactured goods dropped 0.6 percent last month, following a 2 percent gain in September. It marked the first drop since August. Economists had expected orders would grow 0.5 percent.
In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 11.04, or 0.1 percent, to 10,444.75. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.72, or 0.2 percent, to 1,107.37, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 4.67, or 0.2 percent, to 2,173.85.
The dollar fell against most other major currencies, while gold rose to another record.
A weakening dollar has bolstered commodities and stocks of energy and materials companies, helping pump up their stocks in the market’s eight-month rally.
Bond prices fell slightly. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.33 percent from 3.31 percent late Tuesday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.05 percent from 0.03 percent.
Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 179 million shares compared with 229.4 million shares traded at the same point Monday. Hard money training.
Tags: home sales, investors, stocks, thanksgiving holiday, unemployment
Read More…
[...]…Thanks for the post…[...]…
abasia…
thomas sabo packings ukJust about every jacket is created in this sort of a way…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Wow!…
A very fascinating post. …
Wow!…
A very spectacular post. …
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
way to cease smoking. to stop smoking…
is not an easy task, especially when one is a chain smoker.one of the best ways to quit smoking is through herbal treatment. using herbal methods will ensure that there are no side effects in the process. herbal methods are very…
Wow!…
A very fascinating post. …
for shoppers. most store put them in…
5 different locations.unfortunately far too many consumers aren’t aware of at least four of the locations. they know about the tearpads because these are readily visible in the aisle. a tearpad can also be found on the shelf or display of…
of 7 million page views per day.if…
you are going out on your own to sell your property to save money, you should probably think twice. you may not be able to get the offer you are expecting if you try to sell your home on your own….
ability…
A number of locksmiths provide or deal with 24-hour locksmith services. These locksmiths usually will not make locks but conduct lock installations, lock repairs, rekeying, lock picking, together with other imperative lock and key services. Once the wo…
abbotcy…
uggs boots saleYour whole entire body will stay cozy and there can be no odds of getting a chilly at all…
natural shedding of body fat. calotren is…
based on a collagen based protein that assists the body in burning off fats and sugars more effectively than other weight loss programs. the benefits of calotren are your answer to a healthier lifestyle as they can improve your health in…
Windows 8…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]…
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Windows 8…
[...]just below, are some totally unrelated sites to ours, however, they are definitely worth checking out[...]…