Investing.com - U.S. stocks finished Tuesday flat to higher after housing data drew applause on Wall Street by stoking hopes economic fundamentals are improving, though profit taking trimmed earlier gains.
Soft consumer confidence data, meanwhile, kept expectations going that the Federal Reserve will make no changes to its accommodative policies until 2014.
Loose monetary policies including the Fed's USD85 billion in monthly bond purchases aim to drive recovery by pushing down long-term interest rates, boosting stock prices in the process.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day flat, the S&P 500 index rose 0.01%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.58%.
Building permits issued in the U.S. in October rose to their highest level since January 2008, which fueled for hopes for a rebound in the housing sector that would fuel recovery in the labor market and in the broader economy as a whole.
The Commerce Department reported earlier that the number of building permits issued rose 6.2% to a seasonally adjusted 1.034 million units from September’s total of 970,000.
Analysts expected building permits to decline to 940,000 units in October, and the numbers drew applause on Wall Street.
Elsewhere in the U.S. housing sector, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 0.7% in September from August and 13.3% on year in September.
The monthly increase met expectations, though September's on-year gain, the fastest since February of 2006, beat consensus forecasts for a 13.0% reading.
Meanwhile, soft consumer confidence data also boosted stocks by keeping expectations alive that the Federal Reserve will keep monthly asset purchases in play until 2014, while any decision to taper purchases will not herald in an era of monetary tightening.
The Conference Board reported earlier that its index of U.S. consumer confidence declined to 70.4 in November from 72.4 in October.
Analysts were expecting the index to rise to 72.9 this month.
Stocks erased gains later in the session due to profit taking ahead of the Thanksgiving holidays on Thursday.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Walt Disney, up 2.08%, Boeing, up 1.35%, and Home Depot, up 0.79%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Exxon Mobil, down 0.87%, Goldman Sachs, down 0.85%, and Procter & Gamble, also down 0.85%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished lower.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.24%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.57%, while Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.11%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished down 0.87%.
On Wednesday, the U.S. is to release data on durable goods orders, a report on manufacturing activity in the Chicago region and revised data on consumer sentiment.
The Labor Department is to release the weekly report on initial jobless claims one day ahead of schedule due to Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday.
Soft consumer confidence data, meanwhile, kept expectations going that the Federal Reserve will make no changes to its accommodative policies until 2014.
Loose monetary policies including the Fed's USD85 billion in monthly bond purchases aim to drive recovery by pushing down long-term interest rates, boosting stock prices in the process.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day flat, the S&P 500 index rose 0.01%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.58%.
Building permits issued in the U.S. in October rose to their highest level since January 2008, which fueled for hopes for a rebound in the housing sector that would fuel recovery in the labor market and in the broader economy as a whole.
The Commerce Department reported earlier that the number of building permits issued rose 6.2% to a seasonally adjusted 1.034 million units from September’s total of 970,000.
Analysts expected building permits to decline to 940,000 units in October, and the numbers drew applause on Wall Street.
Elsewhere in the U.S. housing sector, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 0.7% in September from August and 13.3% on year in September.
The monthly increase met expectations, though September's on-year gain, the fastest since February of 2006, beat consensus forecasts for a 13.0% reading.
Meanwhile, soft consumer confidence data also boosted stocks by keeping expectations alive that the Federal Reserve will keep monthly asset purchases in play until 2014, while any decision to taper purchases will not herald in an era of monetary tightening.
The Conference Board reported earlier that its index of U.S. consumer confidence declined to 70.4 in November from 72.4 in October.
Analysts were expecting the index to rise to 72.9 this month.
Stocks erased gains later in the session due to profit taking ahead of the Thanksgiving holidays on Thursday.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Walt Disney, up 2.08%, Boeing, up 1.35%, and Home Depot, up 0.79%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Exxon Mobil, down 0.87%, Goldman Sachs, down 0.85%, and Procter & Gamble, also down 0.85%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished lower.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.24%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.57%, while Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.11%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished down 0.87%.
On Wednesday, the U.S. is to release data on durable goods orders, a report on manufacturing activity in the Chicago region and revised data on consumer sentiment.
The Labor Department is to release the weekly report on initial jobless claims one day ahead of schedule due to Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday.