US open: Stocks rally after raft of positive economic data

The US stock market was jolly on Wednesday as investors sifted through a batch of upbeat economic data before the Christmas holiday.

At 1506 GMT the Dow was up 0.68%, the Nasdaq rose 0.66% and the S&P 500 increased 0.74%.

Durable goods orders in the US were unchanged in November, beating expectations for a 0.6% drop, the Commerce Department revealed, boosted by aircraft components.

Separately, personal income and spending figures were also released by the Commerce Department. Personal income rose 0.3% in November, surpassing forecasts for a 0.2% increase, while personal spending climbed 0.3% last month, in line with estimates.

A report on US new home sales in November also came in better than expected. Sales increased 4.3% in November from a month ago, compared to analysts’ projections of 2%.

Meanwhile, the University of Michigan’s consumer confidence index was revised to 92.6 in December from a previous estimate of 91.8, surprising analysts who had pencilled in a reading of 92.

Oil prices were also enjoying gains, with Brent crude up 2.2% to $36.95 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate up 2.5% to $37.10 per barrel at 1529 GMT.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Wednesday said it expects oil prices to reach $70 per barrel by 2020, according to its monthly World Oil Outlook report. OPEC also said it expected to reduce its own production to 30.6m barrels per day in 2019, compared to its three-year high of 31.7m bpd in November.

The dollar was down 0.31% against the pound and down 0.12% against the yen but up 0.53% against the euro.

On the company front, Celgene Corp. gained after the biotech company said it has reached a settlement in the long-running patent dispute over its flagship blood-cancer drug Revlimid.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. declined after the retailer on Tuesday lowered its quarterly guidance

Micron Technology Inc. dropped after the memory-chip maker gave a negative outlook.