US close: Stocks buoyed by latest economic data
Wall Street finished on a slightly higher note as investors sifted through a slew of data releases on an otherwise quiet day, with little in the way of corporate news and volumes thin ahead of the new year.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.16% to 24,812.71, with the S&P 500 ahead by 0.07% to 2,684.49 and the Nasdaq Composite up by 0.05% to 6,943.03.
From a sector standpoint, the best performance was seen in the following industry groups: Aluminum (4.44%), Coal (3.25%) and Non-ferrous metals (3.10%).
There was some good news on the data front, as the Chicago purchasing managers’ index showed a rise to 67.6 this month - its highest since March 2011 - from 63.9 in November, versus expectations for a reading of 62.
Elsewhere, data from the Labor Department showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits was steady last week, according to data from the Labor Department.
US initial jobless claims were unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised average of 245,000. Economists had been expecting claims to drop to 240,000.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average came in at 237,750, up 1,750 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 236,000.
Meanwhile, preliminary figures from the Commerce Department revealed that America's shortfall on its foreign trade in goods widened last month, as import growth continued to outpace that in the country's exports.
The goods deficit increased by 2.3% month-on-month to reach $69.7bn versus consensus expectations for $68.0bn.
Import rose sharply, increasing by 2.7% to reach $203.4bn while exports were 2.9% higher to $133.7bn.
Unsurprisingly given the time of year, corporate news was thin on the ground.
Shares in trucking company JB Hunt fell after it issued fourth-quarter guidance that missed analysts' expectations.
Dow Jones - Risers
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $222.68 1.07%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $135.66 0.66%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $154.01 0.59%
American Express Co. (AXP) $99.70 0.58%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $158.45 0.57%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $107.79 0.53%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $56.59 0.46%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $128.11 0.42%
Visa Inc. (V) $114.35 0.29%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $53.43 0.28%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.72 -0.46%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $189.78 -0.22%
3M Co. (MMM) $235.72 -0.20%
General Electric Co. (GE) $17.36 -0.12%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $92.05 -0.03%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $140.50 -0.01%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $62.94 -0.00%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $85.72 0.01%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $125.58 0.02%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $38.59 0.08%
S&P 500 - Risers
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $5.77 5.49%
Alcoa Corporation (AA) $54.14 4.44%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $4.04 4.12%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $17.60 3.83%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $57.27 3.49%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $192.71 3.47%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $19.27 3.10%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $35.74 2.06%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $15.19 1.88%
Northern Trust Corp. (NTRS) $100.32 1.66%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $22.55 -2.17%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $21.28 -2.12%
Mallinckrodt Plc Ordinary Shares (MNK) $22.80 -2.06%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $62.92 -2.04%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $15.34 -1.79%
Altria Group Inc. (MO) $71.27 -1.60%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $41.81 -1.58%
Csra Inc. (CSRA) $30.04 -1.44%
Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $87.27 -1.40%
Kansas City Southern (KSU) $105.63 -1.39%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $192.71 3.47%
Liberty Interactive Corporation - Series A Liberty Ventures (LVNTA) $55.01 1.72%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $109.59 1.66%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $338.03 1.43%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $158.79 1.34%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $315.36 1.19%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $35.75 0.99%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $217.52 0.96%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $57.81 0.94%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $68.50 0.87%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $349.95 -3.23%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $62.92 -2.04%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $41.81 -1.58%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $41.63 -1.56%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $234.74 -1.25%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class A (LILA) $20.46 -1.21%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $95.38 -1.17%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class C (LILAK) $20.26 -1.12%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $315.57 -1.08%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $168.48 -1.02%