Investing.com - A barrage of mostly upbeat U.S. economic data reinforced the case for a Federal Reserve rate hike next month.
The U.S. Department of Labor said first time jobless claims declined by 12,000 last week to 260,000. Analysts expected jobless claims to fall by 2,000 last week.
At the same time, the U.S. Commerce Department said durable goods orders jumped 3.0% in October, easily surpassing forecasts for 1.5%.
The mostly upbeat data added to already growing expectations the Federal Reserve will raise rates for the first time in nearly a decade at its December 15-16 meeting.
Most Fed officials believe there is a strong case to begin raising interest rates next month, as long as U.S. economic data does not disappoint in the coming weeks.