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Good economic data
extend market rally
NEW YORK >> Wall Street extended its gains into a fourth straight day yesterday after a trio of economic reports gave investors assurance the economic recovery was firmly under way.
Trading was light and choppy as many traders took the day off before Thanksgiving, when the markets are closed. Analysts said the thin volume was impeding what might otherwise be stronger buying momentum.
"As everyone tried to pile out of the office, there's simply not a whole lot of people to react to the news," said Brian G. Belski, fundamental market strategist at US Bancorp Piper Jaffray.
"More people are focused on what's going to happen heading into 2004 rather than the last quarter in terms of economic data," he added.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 15.63, or 0.2 percent, at 9,779.57, following a three-day gain of 144.52 points. Earlier in the day, the blue-chip average rose as much as 30.74 points and fell as much as 57.93.
The Nasdaq composite index gained 10.27, or 0.5 percent, to 1,953.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.56, or 0.4 percent, to 1,058.45.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume was very light at 1.42 billion shares, compared with 1.72 billion traded Tuesday.
The Russell 2000 index rose 2.13, or 0.4 percent, to 545.31.
The NYSE composite index advanced 35.58, or 0.6 percent, to 6,068.77. The American Stock Exchange composite index gained 7.65, or 0.7 percent, to 1,088.61.
The Treasury's two-year note fell 532 to 99 1432, with its yield rising 9 basis points to 1.92 percent. The 10-year note lost 1632 to 100 1/32, with its yield gaining 6 basis points to 4.25 percent.
The Commerce Department reported that new orders for durable goods rose by 3.3 percent in October, up from a 2.1 percent gain in the previous month. October's reading handily surpassed analysts' estimates of a 0.7 percent rise; it was also the best showing since July 2002.
Meanwhile, consumer spending was steady in October and people's incomes grew by a solid 0.4 percent, the department said separately.
The readings matched economists' predictions and the increase in income offered hope that spending might continue to be strong.
And the Labor Department said new jobless claims last week declined by a seasonally adjusted 11,000 to 351,000. It was the lowest level since January 2001.
Ameritrade Holding Corp. gained 58 cents to $12.54 after Merrill Lynch & Co. upgraded the brokerage firm's stock rating to "buy" from "neutral."
RF Micro Devices Inc. rose 7 cents to $11.48 after C.E. Unterberg Towbin upgraded the company's stock rating to "buy" from "market perform," citing better growth prospects.
Losers included Ford Motor Co., which fell 8 cents to $12.92, after a California appeals court slashed a $290 million punitive damage award in a Ford Bronco rollover case to $23.7 million.
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