US close: Plethora of data ahead of Thanksgiving

US traders had a plethora of economic data to digest on Wednesday ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.2 points up to 17,813.39, while the S&P 500 finished down 0.27 points to 2,088.87 and the Nasdaq closed 13.33 points higher at 5,116.14.

With Wall Street closed on Thursday and trading closing at 1pm Eastern Time on Friday (1800 GMT), investors had plenty to analyse.

According to the Commerce Department, orders for US durable goods increased 3% last month, compared to forecasts for a 1.5% gain. September's 1.2% drop was revised to a 0.8% decrease.

Elsewhere, consumer spending rose 0.1% month-on-month in October compared with a 0.1% increase in September and with analysts’ expectations for a 0.3% gain, while personal income rose 0.4% month-on-month in October in line with expectations and up from an upwardly revised 0.2% increase registered in September.

On a core level, which strips out food and energy, the personal consumption expenditure was flat, falling short of the 0.1% reading analysts had expected and lower than an upwardly revised 0.2% gain in the previous month.

Meanwhile, according to the Labor Department, new claims declined by 12,000 to 260,000 in the week to 21 November, compared with analysts' expectations for a 271,000 reading, while the average of new claims over the last four weeks were unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 271,000.

In the US services sector, Markit said its 'flash' estimate of the purchasing managers' index rose from 54.8 in October to 56.1 in November, marking the sharpest rate of growth since April and beating analysts' expectations for a 55.1 reading.

The index was also above the 55.8 average seen since the survey began six years ago and marked the 25th consecutive month of expansion for the services sector in the world's largest economy.

The Commerce Department also revealed new home sales jumped 10.7% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 495,000, after September's 11.5% tumble was revised down to show a 12.9% slump.

Analysts had expected a 6.8% decline to a 500,000 annual rate, compared with a downwardly revised 447,000 reading in the previous month.

However, the median price of a new home last month slid 8.5% year-on-year to $281,500.

And finally US consumers were slightly more confident than expected in November, data released on Wednesday showed.

The final reading of the University of Michigan index monitoring consumer sentiment was revised upward to show a 91.3 reading compared with initial estimates of a 90.0 reading.

In company news, Pfizer continued to rise after it announced earlier in the week it will combine with Allergan in a $160bn deal, with shares closing up 2.82% to $32.87.

However HP Inc was one of the market’s biggest fallers after its fourth quarter earnings results missed analysts' expectations. Its reported earnings of 93 cents per share was much lower than the $1.06 per share posted in 2014.

S&P 500 - Risers
Keurig Green Mountain Inc (GMCR) $52.76 +8.00%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $8.00 +6.38%
Deere & Co. (DE) $80.00 +4.79%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $69.51 +3.65%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $9.41 +3.52%
Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) $73.55 +3.13%
Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) $57.34 +2.85%
Allergan plc (AGN) $320.26 +2.84%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $52.35 +2.83%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $32.87 +2.82%

S&P 500 - Fallers
HP Inc (HPQ) $12.64 -13.66%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $11.28 -5.21%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $12.18 -3.49%
GameStop Corp. (GME) $36.64 -3.35%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $51.92 -2.74%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $8.10 -2.41%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $58.19 -2.23%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $18.11 -2.11%
Aetna Inc. (AET) $103.95 -2.01%
NiSource Inc. (NI) $19.14 -1.95%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $32.87 +2.82%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $134.13 +1.22%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $114.41 +1.08%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $134.65 +0.79%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $118.67 +0.61%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $60.24 +0.53%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $53.72 +0.45%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.45 +0.26%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $189.15 +0.25%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $71.49 +0.13%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $53.69 -1.03%
General Electric Co. (GE) $30.36 -0.98%
Boeing Co. (BA) $147.43 -0.82%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $81.25 -0.77%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $75.90 -0.72%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $118.03 -0.72%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.92 -0.60%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $114.80 -0.55%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $90.87 -0.53%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $138.00 -0.43%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Keurig Green Mountain Inc (GMCR) $52.76 +8.00%
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $3.60 +6.82%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $229.64 +5.22%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $69.51 +3.65%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $115.41 +3.30%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $52.35 +2.83%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $51.80 +2.80%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $156.41 +2.73%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $182.24 +2.50%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $180.46 +2.37%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $96.06 -1.78%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $201.80 -1.72%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $29.99 -1.19%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $62.25 -1.11%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $53.69 -1.03%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $561.69 -1.02%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $57.27 -1.00%
Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) $122.41 -0.96%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $131.97 -0.87%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $37.94 -0.86%