Markets Thankful for Encouraging Data

Stocks closed slightly higher ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday following the release of some better-than-expected data on consumer spending and the job market, although durable goods orders saw an unexpected dip.

The Dow was up 31 points, to 10,465.  The S&P 500 was up 5 points at 1,111, and the Nasdaq was up 7 points at 2,177.

The Commerce Department said that personal income increased by $30.1 billion, or 0.2%, in October, for the second straight month of gains.  Consumer spending increased by $68.3 billion, or 0.7%, following a 0.6% decline in September.  Both numbers were stronger than expected.  Savings as a percentage of disposable income dipped slightly from 4.6% in September to 4.4% in October.

The number of workers filing initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 35,000 last week, more than economists had expected, to the lowest level since September 2008.  

The Census Bureau's report on new orders for manufactured durable goods disappointed, falling by $1.0 billion, or 0.6%, following a 2.0% increase in September.  Economists had expected new orders to rise by 0.5%.  

Shares of Tiffany & Co. (TIF) were up more than 3% after a better-than-expected third-quarter earnings report.

The Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index increased slightly to 67.4, up from 66.0 in early November, but remains below October's 70.6 reading.

The Census Bureau reported that sales of new one-family homes were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 430,000 in October, a 6.2% increase over September's revised number, and a 5.1% year-over-year increase.  The report also said the seasonally adjusted number of new homes for sale represents a supply of 6.7 months at the current rate of sales.

Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report.