U.S. benchmark equity indexes saw gains ahead of Thursday's close as markets processed the latest economic indicators and corporate earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.5% to reach 42,517.8, while both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.3%, closing at 5,889.5 and 19,444.1, respectively.
Among the sectors, utilities led the way in gains, whereas real estate experienced the most significant decline. In a final estimate by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the real gross domestic product in the U.S. rose at an annual rate of 3.1% in the third quarter. This revision surpassed a prior estimate from the BEA that had indicated growth of 2.8%, which was also the consensus from a Bloomberg-compiled poll. Moreover, existing home sales in the U.S.
exceeded expectations last month, recording the highest year-over-year increase since June 2021, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. Additionally, the latest government data indicated a larger-than-anticipated decrease in weekly unemployment insurance applications. In terms of market yields, the U.S.
10-year yield rose by 7.8 basis points to 4.58%, while the two-year rate fell by 3.4 basis points to 4.32%. Corporate results are on the horizon, with Nike, FedEx, and BlackBerry set to announce their earnings after the closing bell. In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped by 1%, landing at $69.85 a barrel..