Health care and consumer stocks were among the few advancers.
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About 6.9 billion shares changed hands on United States exchanges below the 7.2 billion average for the last 20 sessions, according to Reuters data.
In the final hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,838.91, up 26.72 points (0.15 per cent).
“We had an inexplicable rally late yesterday”. The euro was last at $US1.0631, down 0.2 per cent on the day. Trading volume in S&P 500 companies was 27 percent below the 30-day average for this time of day.
USA stock markets closed lower on Monday, as investors eyed fluctuations in oil prices and looked ahead to economic reports in the shortened Thanksgiving holiday week. Data today showed consumers in October saw their biggest wage gains in five months, though they pocketed much of the increase as the saving rate jumped to the highest level in nearly three years.
European stocks closed higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-gain-with-travel-shares-finding-relief-2015-11-25), recovering from Tuesday’s sharp losses, (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-gain-with-travel-shares-finding-relief-2015-11-25)after Turkey’s president said the country isn’t looking to escalate tensions with Russian Federation.
“The market will be guided by the macro news of the day, notwithstanding the geopolitical concerns that remain elevated”, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in NY.
While investors cited good conditions for consumers, they were cautious about global security issues and the impact from the first US interest rate hike since 2006, which is widely expected to happen in December. In a separate report, the department said the USA personal income in October increased $68.1 billion, or 0.4 percent, on par with market estimates.
Weekly jobless claims came in at 260,000. Excluding food and energy prices, the price index for gross domestic purchases increased 1.3 percent, compared with an increase of 1.2 percent. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.3 percent, while the Russell 2000 Index advanced 0.8 percent. “New home sales have been stuck bouncing around 500k since mid- 2014, and this October’s number is no exception”.
The euro fell against the dollar Wednesday on renewed expectations that quantitative easing could be more expansive.
US stocks eked out gains Tuesday, as gains in oil prices and energy stocks helped offset an earlier decline following news of a downed Russian jet near the Syrian border. The definition of small cap can vary among brokerages, but generally it is a company with a market capitalization of between $300 million and $2 billion.
The week of Thanksgiving is seasonally positive for stocks.
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At 3:28 p.m.in NY, the Dow Jones (INDEXDJX:.DJI) and the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) were each up 0.2%. The S&P 500 edged down 0.37 point, or 0.02 percent, to 2,086.22, Xinhua reported.
