The S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained on Wednesday as U.S. technology stocks recovered from a round of recent losses. This rebound was largely spurred on by renewed investor confidence following the release of positive economic data.
The latest Labor Department data prior to the holiday closure showed that weekly initial jobless claims are expected to fall to their lowest level since November 1969, a 52-year low.
In addition to the positive outlook on the employment front, strong economic recovery was also indicated by recent consumer spending patterns. A recent report showed that personal consumption expenditures (PCE) rose by 5.0% in October, the fastest rise since 1990.
In the face of elevated price pressures, the 10-year Treasury yield rose by almost 1.7% while interest rates continue to rise.
More positive results were exhibited by the property market, with data from the Commerce Department showing a 0.4% increase in new home sales in October. This figure is an extension of the 7.1% surge in September, thereby showing a strong turnaround from the slump experienced in the first half of the year.
Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, stated that these results indicate further increases over the next few months, with sales hitting the 850,000 mark in January.
