Stocks rose slightly on Wednesday, building on their record-setting run after the release of stronger-than-forecast economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials let go of 8.09 points from Tuesday’s all-time record, at 28,113.59.
The S&P 500 added 4.62 points to 3,145.05 to Tuesday’s record.
The NASDAQ added 24.03 points to 8,671.97, improving on Tuesday’s all-time peak. The averages were on track to post their fourth straight gain.
The Dow has gained 4.3%, and S&P 500 is up 3.9%, over the past month in that time, while the NASDAQ is up nearly 5%.
Wednesday’s moves come ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday for which the market will be closed on Thursday. Typically, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving has been a good day for stocks. Data from the Stock Trader’s Almanac shows the Dow has only declined 16 times in the past 66 years the day before the holiday.
Apple and Facebook contributed to Wednesday’s gains, Apple rising 0.6% and Facebook ahead 0.5%.
Durable goods orders rose 0.6% in October while economists expected a decline of 0.8%. Weekly jobless claims, meanwhile, fell to 213,000 from 227,000. Third-quarter GDP was revised to show growth of 2.1%. That’s up from a previous reading of 1.9%.
The strong data comes ahead of the Federal Reserve releasing its Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions, also known as the Beige Book, at 2 p.m.
The commentary offers insight on the state of the world’s largest economy and a look into how the Fed views its monetary policy stance. The Fed has lowered rates three times this year and has indicated it will likely keep rates at current levels for the foreseeable future.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury docked strength, raising yields to 1.77% from Tuesday’s 1.74%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were unchanged at $58.41 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sliced off $6.40 to $1,461.00 U.S. an ounce.
