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U.S. stocks managed to close in positive territory Wednesday as investors tried to assess the strength of the U.S. economy by a string of mixed economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12.81 points, or 0.07 percent, to 17,827.75, a record closing high. The S&P 500 advanced 5.80 points, or 0.28 percent, to finish at all-time high of 2,072. 83. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 29.06 points, or 0.61 percent, to 4,787.32, the highest not seen since March 2000.
Posting slight gains at the opening bell, major stock indices moved in a tight range afterwards and regained steam in late session, as more data rolled out in fits and starts.
New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in October increased 0.4 percent, beating analyst estimates, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
The department said in a separate report that U.S. personal income increased 0.2 percent in October and personal spending also added 0.2 percent, both missing market expectations.
In addition, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims stood at 313,000 in the week ending Nov. 22, an increase of 21,000 from the previous week's revised level and higher than market expectations, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.
The final reading of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan 's consumer sentiment index in November came out at 88.8, its highest since July 2007, but lower than preliminary estimate of 89. 4 and market consensus of 90.0.
Sales of U.S. new single-family houses in October rose at a less than expected 0.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000 from September, according to the Commerce Department.
Meanwhile, U.S. pending home sales index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, decreased 1.1 percent to 104. 1 in October from the preceding month, but remained at a healthy level of activity, according to the National Association of Realtors. The latest number fell short of analyst forecast.
In corporate news, shares of Deere & Co. dropped 0.91 percent to 86.99 dollars apiece as the farm-equipment maker issued weak guidance for its next fiscal year.
The U.S. market will be closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
On the previous trading day, U.S. stocks closed little changed, with the S&P 500 touching an all-time intraday high, although U.S. real gross domestic product came out well above market expectations.
The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, dropped 1.47 percent to end at 12.07 on Wednesday.
In other markets, crude prices dropped ahead of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' decision as to whether to cut oil output at its meeting Thursday.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery moved down 40 cents to settle at 73.69 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for January delivery lost 58 cents to close at 77.75 dollars a barrel.
Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched down, with the most active gold contract for December delivery down 0.5 dollar to settle at 1,196.6 dollars per ounce.
The U.S. dollar edged down against other major currencies amid mixed economic data from the country. In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.2514 dollars from 1.2470 dollars in the previous session, and the U.S. dollar bought 117.75 Japanese yen, lower than 117.94 yen of the previous session.
