US: Stocks end at records after solid economic data

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks again hit new all-time highs on Wednesday following better-than-expected US economic data, finishing buoyantly in the week's last full session of the holiday-shortened week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average concluded the day at 28,164.00, up 0.2 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.4 per cent to end at 3,153.63, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.7 per cent to close at 8,705.18.

All three indices ended at records for the third straight day.

Markets have been bolstered this week by optimism over US-China trade talks and the upcoming holiday shopping season.

But stocks got a boost from low trading volumes ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, which will close exchanges on Thursday while there will be a half-session on Friday.

US growth was revised up to 2.1 per cent in the third quarter, a bit better than the 1.9 per cent in the prior report. Orders for durable goods also topped expectations.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said the latest reports "feed into the notion that the US economy is not on the cusp of a recession."

But a Federal Reserve survey showed businesses, farmers and bankers nationwide remained concerned about the impact of tariffs and trade conflict.

Among individual companies, Boeing fell 1.5 per cent after its 777X suffered significant problems during testing overseen by US aviation inspectors, raising new questions about a key aircraft under development.

Boeing remains under scrutiny over the 737 Max, which remains grounded after two fatal crashes.

Deere & Company slumped 4.3 per cent as it reported an eight percent drop in fourth-quarter profit to US$722 million.

The company said trade war uncertainty and difficult harvesting conditions had dented farmer orders of new equipment.

AFP