New York – Better-than-expected consumer confidence numbers and a drop in oil prices sent stocks higher Wednesday, extending Wall Street’s November rally in light preholiday trading.
Investors were encouraged by the University of Michigan’s consumer confidence index: 81.6, slightly higher than the 81 reading Wall Street expected and a good omen for the holiday shopping kickoff Friday.
Oil prices dropped after the Energy Department reported substantial increases in the nation’s fuel stockpiles. A barrel of light crude was quoted at $58.71, down 13 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“This definitely helps the continuation of the rally,” said Peter Cardillo, chief strategist and senior vice president at S.W. Bach & Co. “From here, I see the continuation of this rally through the end of the year.”
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 44.66, or 0.41 percent, to 10,916.09. Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 4.38, or 0.35 percent, to 1,265.61, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 6.42, or 0.28 percent, to 2,259.98.
The Bloomberg Colorado Index, a price- weighted list of companies based in the state, fell 0.91, or 0.3 percent, to 319.91, after touching an all-time high of 321.02 earlier in the day.
Bonds edged lower, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.47 percent from 4.43 percent late Tuesday. The dollar was mixed against other currencies, while gold prices fell.
Not all the economic news was good. A larger-than-expected increase in first-time jobless claims, which rose by 30,000 to 335,000 last week, had investors concerned that the labor market was still struggling after the Gulf Coast hurricanes. The number of people continuing to collect unemployment claims remains high, at 2.82 million.
The day’s trading was unlikely to be significant in the coming weeks, as most investors were already in vacation mode.
“This is the time of the year that the market, historically, goes up,” said Barry Berman, head trader for Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee. “There’s a sense that that rally has started and people are jumping on board.”
