U.S. benchmark equity indexes saw an increase ahead of Friday's close as markets reacted to the latest economic data, including a report indicating that the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric unexpectedly remained steady last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% to reach 42,833.1.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite experienced a 1% increase each, closing at 5,927.4 and 19,557.2, respectively. Every sector showed gains, with real estate leading the way. In November, U.S. consumer spending growth accelerated, as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The Fed's favored core measure, which omits food and energy costs, remained flat at an annual rate of 2.8% last month, easing from 0.3% to 0.1% sequentially.
Analysts had anticipated growth rates of 2.9% and 0.2%, respectively. Additionally, U.S. consumer sentiment increased in December, reaching its highest level since April. This was complemented by a rise in year-ahead inflation expectations, which saw their first month-over-month increase in seven months, according to final results from the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers. In terms of debt, the U.S.
10-year yield dropped 4.8 basis points to 4.52%, while the two-year rate fell by one basis point to 4.31%. West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices increased by 0.2%, now priced at $69.55 per barrel..