US close: Stocks higher following November PCE reading

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks closed higher on Friday as the blue-chip clawed back some of this week's heavy losses. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.18% at 42,840.26, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.09% to 5,930.85 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.03% firmer at 19,572.60.

The Dow closed 498.02 points higher on Friday, building on modest gains recorded in the previous session.

Friday's primary focus was November's personal consumption expenditures index, which revealed Americans continued to spend at a steady clip last month, while prices rose slightly less than anticipated. According to the Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms, personal incomes rose at a month-on-month clip of 0.3% during November, while personal spending increased by 0.4%. On the inflation front, the annual rate of increase in the price deflator for personal consumption expenditures ticked higher from 2.3% to 2.4%. Core PCE prices meanwhile were steady at 2.8% year-on-year (consensus: 2.9%).

Elsewhere on the macro front, Consumer confidence in the US rose modestly, although inflation expectations were mixed, the results of a closely followed survey revealed. A final reading on the University of Michigan's consumer confidence index for the month of December came in at 74.0, which was up from 71.8 one month before - in line with a preliminary reading and consensus forecasts.

Also drawing some investor attention, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was more than five basis points lower at 4.519% after breaking above the 4.5% barrier earlier in the week.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $19.52 2.41% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $500.13 2.22% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $343.65 2.21% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $566.10 2.19% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $39.94 2.15% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.55 2.14% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $237.60 1.99% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $392.60 1.97% American Express Co. (AXP) $298.65 1.90% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $254.49 1.88%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $98.05 -1.48% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $92.24 -1.24% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $168.06 -0.67% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $223.36 -0.25% Nike Inc. (NKE) $76.94 -0.21% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.93 -0.10% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $436.60 -0.10% Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $62.55 0.16% Boeing Co. (BA) $177.35 0.18%

S&P 500 - Risers

Carnival Corp. (CCL) $26.80 6.43% Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $26.91 5.90% Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $72.94 5.62% Humana Inc. (HUM) $247.10 4.80% FMC Corp. (FMC) $50.15 4.78% AES Corp. (AES) $13.00 4.50% Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $47.13 3.90% Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $43.52 3.72% Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $41.51 3.70% PVH Corp. (PVH) $107.45 3.68%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $53.92 -79.58% Dxc Technology Company (DXC) $20.60 -4.14% CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $5.92 -2.31% PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $105.32 -2.04% Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $585.25 -1.73% Accenture Plc (ACN) $366.37 -1.56% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $98.05 -1.48% Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.93 -1.35% Leggett & Platt Inc. (LEG) $9.69 -1.32% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $92.24 -1.24%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $23.08 12.15% Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $72.94 5.62% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $90.12 3.48% Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,720.36 3.26% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $134.70 3.08% Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $184.75 2.98% Incyte Corp. (INCY) $68.84 2.65% Intel Corp. (INTC) $19.52 2.41% Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $273.04 2.33% Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $186.94 2.27%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.31 -7.12% Tesla Inc (TSLA) $421.06 -3.46% PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $105.32 -2.04% Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $585.25 -1.73% Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $12.96 -1.29% Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $211.06 -1.18% Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $701.85 -0.90% Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $87.97 -0.89% Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $55.51 -0.86% JD.com, Inc. (JD) $35.64 -0.75%