NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks ended higher following a drop in weekly unemployment claims to the lowest level of the year and a rise in new home sales.
Trading volume was thin Wednesday ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The government says new claims for unemployment insurance fell by 35,000 last week to 466,000. That's the fewest claims since September 2008.
New home sales rose 6.2 percent in September, more than economists had expected.
The Dow Jones industrials are up 31 at 10,464. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 5 at 1,111. The Nasdaq composite index is up 7 at 2,176.
Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume totaled 794.7 million shares compared with 955.4 million Tuesday.
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