The indices kicked off the week with mixed action as the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted gains while the S&P 500 Index and NASDAQ dipped on a variety of economic news. New-home sales ticked up in October with sales rising 6.2% from the revised September rate and increased 18.7% from October 2016. New record levels were hit on Tuesday, as stocks stepped up on progress in the GOP tax bill. Reports that the Senate was close to passing a tax reform bill likely increased investor confidence. Meanwhile, The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence was up in November, climbing to 129.5, from 125.9 in October. Furthermore, the trade gap increased at a faster rate than expected in October, as data showed the deficit hit $68.3 billion last month, following a reading of $64.1 billion in September. The Dow closed at a new record peak on Wednesday with Financial shares leading advancers and Technology stocks sold off. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ and S&P 500 shed points. In a new estimate, third quarter U.S. GDP was revised up to 3.3% from the prior estimate of 3.0%. The result exceeded an expected upward revision to 3.2%. On separate note, the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, which covers economic activity in October through mid-November, showed the economy expanded at a modest-to-moderate pace in all 12 districts. Good news continued Thursday with the Dow closing above 24,000 for the first time and the S&P 500 climbed to a new record level. Technology brands rebounded from Wednesday’s dip. Meanwhile, crude oil prices ticked up on OPEC news that the organization and other oil-producing nations have agreed to extend a production cut agreement through to the end of 2018. Despite the record highs during the week, indices dipped on Friday. Stocks rebounded up off session lows, but not enough to escape the red zone for the day. Technology brands sold off while Energy stocks ticked up on a jump in crude oil prices. In the week’s last economic report, the ISM manufacturing index fell from 58.7 in October to 58.2 in November, versus expectations of a lesser drop to 58.4.
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