While buying interest has remained subdued, stocks have moved to the upside over the course of morning trading on Wednesday. The major averages have all climbed into positive territory after showing a lack of direction earlier in the session.
The modest strength in the markets comes as traders react to some better than expected economic data, although trading activity has been light as many traders are away from their desks, looking to get a head start on the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
Some buying interest was generated by the release of a report from the Labor Department showing that first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell below the 500,000 level for the first time since early January.
The report showed that jobless claims in the week ended November 21st fell to 466,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 501,000. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to edge down to 500,000 from the 505,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Additionally, a recent report from the Commerce Department showed that new home sales increased by much more than expected in the month of October, with the report also showing an increase in sales compared to the same month a year ago.
The Commerce Department said new home sales rose 6.2 percent to an annual rate of 430,000 in October from the revised September rate of 405,000. Economists had expected sales to edge up to 404,000 from the 402,000 originally reported for the previous month.
While the Commerce Department released a separate report showing that durable goods orders unexpectedly decreased in the month of October, the report also showed a notable upward revision to pace of order growth in September.
In corporate news, shares of Tiffany & Co. (TIF) are seeing strength after the jewelry retailer reported third quarter earnings that were flat year-over-year at $0.35 per share, coming in well above analyst estimates of $0.24 per share.
Tiffany also raised its earnings guidance for the full year, saying it now expects to report earnings of $1.88 to $1.98 per share compared to its previous forecast for earnings of $1.65 to $1.75 per share. Analysts had been expecting the company to earn $1.76 per share.
Meanwhile, shares of Microsoft (MSFT) are moving modestly lower after the software giant said it has appointed Peter Klein as its new chief financial officer to replace Chris Liddell, who informed the company of his intention to resign his position to pursue other opportunities.
In the past few minutes, the major averages have pulled back off their highs for the session, although they are currently holding onto modest gains. The Dow is currently up 18.14 at 10,451.85, the Nasdaq is up 6.77 at 2,175.95 and the S&P 500 is up 2.20 at 1,107.85.
Sector News
Most of the major sectors have moved to the upside over the course of the morning, although most are showing only modest upward moves.
Nonetheless, significant strength has emerged among gold stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain currently being shown by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. While the index is off the intraday high set on Monday, it is currently poised to set a more than one-year closing high.
The strength among gold stocks comes amid a continued increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery currently up $13.20 at $1,179 an ounce. Earlier, the price of gold reached a new record high of $1,183.20 an ounce.
While some housing, steel, and real estate stocks have also shown notable moves to the upside, buying interest has remained subdued. On the other hand, some weakness has emerged among oil service and tobacco stocks.
Stocks Driven By Analyst Comments
Shares of Vistaprint (VPRT) have shown a strong upward move in morning trading, moving further off the one-month closing low set last Friday. Vistaprint is currently up 5.3 percent after Citigroup upgraded its rating on the company's stock to Buy from Hold.
Hospitality Properties Trust (HPT) is also turning a strong performance after Stifel Nicolaus upgraded its rating on the real estate investment trust to Buy from Hold. Shares of Hospitality Properties Trust are currently up 6 percent.
On the other hand, shares of NRG Energy (NRG) are currently down 1.3 percent after UBS downgraded its rating on the company's stock to Neutral from Buy. At its low for the session, NRG was at its worst intraday level in almost a month.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region closed mostly higher on Wednesday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed up by 0.8 percent.
The major European markets are also seeing moderate strength, with the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index currently up by 0.5 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 0.3 percent.
In the bond markets, treasuries are seeing modest weakness following the release of the upbeat economic data. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, it currently up 1.2 basis points at 3.329 percent.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.