Dow at 13-Month high, helped by BA, CAT and PFE

Published on Wednesday, 25 November 2009 18:08 Written by Christian Paolinetti

New York, Nov 25th (TradersHuddle.com) - Both the Dow and the S&P 500 reached new 13 month highs as reports on home sales, jobless claims and consumers spurred optimism that the economic recovery is strengthening.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 30.69 points, or 0.29%. The S&P 500 index added 4.98 points, or 0.45%. The NASDAQ climbed 6.87 points or 0.32%. Market breadth was mixed. On the NYSE, winners topped decliners by a rate of 7 to 3. On the NASDAQ, losers outpaced advancers by a rate of 6to 5.

Encouraging economic reports in the morning were enough for the market to post modest gains. Boeing (NYSE:BA), Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) were the best performing stocks in the Dow, climbing at least 1.5%. Raw-materials producers and retailers led gains among 24 groups in the S&P 500. Close to 5.6 billion shares were traded across the U.S. exchanges, the fewest of the year as trading slowed before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Personal spending rose 0,7%, more than expected last month as income increased, and consumer sentiment improved slightly in November. Jobless claims fell to 466,000 last week and October new-home sales rose 6.2% to their highest level in over a year.