S&P 500, Dow Score Record Close Ahead Of Thanksgiving Break
New York (Nov 26) The S&P500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average ended slightly higher on Wednesday, scoring their 47th and 30th record closes this year, respectively.
Trading on Wall Street was thin with many participants taking off early for the Thanksgiving holiday. Markets will reopen on Friday for a shortened session ending at 1 p.m.
The S&P 500 (SPX) closed 5.74 points, or 0.3%, higher at 2,072.77. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) added 12.81 points, or 0.1%, to 17,827.75.
Gains were led by telecoms and technology sector stocks, but a big drop in energy companies' shares capped the advance. Energy sector stocks sold off due to falling oil prices, driven by concerns about what the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will do about oil oversupplies. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) ended the day up 29.07 points, or 0.6% at 4,787.32.
Market reaction to mostly disappointing economic reports was muted, as much of the data were shrugged off as volatile and in some cases backward looking.
Need to Know: Happy wealthy Thanksgiving and steer clear of Herbalife
Eric Wiegand, senior portfolio manager at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, described Wednesday's action as 'big data, little action'.
"It looks like investors are more worried about holiday travels than about economic data. The U.S. economy is muddling through, but it is still doing better than our biggest European and Asian trading partners," Wiegand said.
Economic reports on Wednesday were mostly disappointing. Weekly jobless claims spiked to the highest level in 11 weeks, in a sign that hiring may have slowed down a bit.
Consumer spending climbed by less than expected in October, while inflation remained below the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2%. Durable-goods orders rose, but thanks largely to orders for military aircraft.
The Chicago purchasing-managers index for November fell, due to a sharp drop in new orders. The University of Michigan Consumer sentiment index for November fell slightly.
Sales of new single-family homes ticked up 0.7% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000, the fastest pace in five months, the government reported Wednesday. Meanwhile, a gauge of pending home sales fell 1.1% in October, signaling that upcoming deals could slow down, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.
Long the S&P 500, and oil worries: Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG, has pointed out that funds are running the second-lowest short positions in S&P 500 futures for the year, while the cash market shows 88% of stocks are now above their 50-day moving average. That figure stood at 13% in mid-October, he said in a note.
This isn't screaming "selloff", as 20% of companies are still trading below their 200-day moving averages, said Weston in a note. But "a short-term move lower of 3-5% would be healthy for the next stage of the bull market to materialize, especially with the U.S. index trading at peak EBIT margins," he added.
Oil prices(CLF5) fell in a choppy session, as investors waited for Thursday's OPEC meeting. See: Saudi Arabia says oil market will 'stabilize itself'
Analysts at Jefferies said don't bet on any agreement coming out of OPEC that would be "big enough to spur a rally in Brent prices" in the near term. See: Oil traders are clearing out ahead of the OPEC decision
TASER International (TASRE) surged 6.2% after the maker of electrical weapons used in law enforcement, announced that the Winston-Salem Police Department is purchasing the company's body cameras and other services.
Other markets: European stocks finished flat. Japanese stocks broke a winning strength as the yen perked up against the dollar(USDJPY). Gold prices(GCZ4) were unchanged.
Source: Nasdaq.com
