The S&P and Nasdaq rose for a fourth straight day after an estimate of gross domestic product growth in the third quarter was nudged higher and weekly unemployment claims came in better than expected. Stocks are taking a break for the Thanksgiving holiday at record highs before investors will be able to trade again during a shortened Black Friday session.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., third quarter GDP growth was bumped up to 2.1% from 1.9% in the second reading, which was better than expected. Initial jobless claims fell 15,000 to 213,000 in the week ended November 23. Durable goods orders bounced 0.6% in October, beating estimates. The Chicago PMI bounced 3.1 points to 46.3 in November, largely erasing s 3.9 point drop 43.2 in October. An index of pending home sales fell 1.7% to 106.7 in October.
COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Deere (DE) declined 4.3% after the farm equipment maker reported better than expected fiscal fourth quarter sales and earnings but also said that "lingering trade tensions coupled with a year of difficult growing and harvesting conditions have caused many farmers to become cautious about making major investments in new equipment." Deere's worldwide sales of agriculture and turf equipment are forecast to decline 5%-10% for fiscal-year 2020, while worldwide sales of construction and forestry equipment are anticipated to be down 10%-15% for FY20, the company guided.
Boeing shares slipped about 1.5% after Seattle Times broke news that the extent of the damage to a 777X airframe during a test of its structural strength was greater than previously disclosed. Additionally, The Wall Street Journal reported that European and Middle Eastern regulators will run independent certification evaluations of Boeing's 777X aircraft following the 737 MAX crisis.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Under Armour (UAA), which gained 6.2% after Raymond James analyst Matthew McClintock upgraded the stock to Strong Buy from Outperform with an unchanged price target of $30. Also higher was Autodesk (ADSK), which advanced 5.5% following the company's earnings report.
Among the notable losers was Evolent Health (EVH), which plunged 27.4% after its partner Passport Health Plan received notification from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services that Passport has not been awarded a Kentucky managed Medicaid contract for the next contract period. Evolent Health CEO Frank Williams said that the company "fully supports" Passport's intent to protest this outcome. Also lower was PVH Corp. (PVH), which slid 2.5% following its report of its quarterly results.
INDEXES: The Dow gained 97.53, or 0.35%, to 28,164.00, the Nasdaq rose 57.24, or 0.66%, to 8,705.18, and the S&P 500 added 13.11, or 0.42%, to 3,153.63.
Deere
-7.78 (-4.40%)
Boeing
-5.785 (-1.55%)
Evolent Health
-2.97 (-27.78%)
Under Armour
+1.09 (+6.05%)
Autodesk
+9.01 (+5.26%)
Under Armour
+1.02 (+6.19%)
PVH Corp.
-2.56 (-2.56%)