The U.S. equity market cut back early losses to finish the day higher, with all three major indexes ending in green. The Dow Jones ended the day 0.09% higher at 11,356.51, the S&P 500 ended the day 0.44% higher at 1,218.75 and the Nasdaq ended the day 0.62% higher at 2,578.78.
The Labor Department today reported that initial jobless claims for the week ended November 7 fell by 24,000 to 435,000. Economists were expecting the initial jobless claims for the week ended November 6 to come in at 450,000.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department today reported that the U.S. trade deficit for the month of September dropped 5.3% to $4 billion.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced that it will give all of its employees a 10% raise in January to prevent them from moving to rivals. Shares of Google ended the day 0.31% lower at $622.88.
Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) today reported its third-quarter financial results. The company posted third-quarter profit of $0.08 per share, ahead of analysts’ estimate of $0.04 per share. Shares of Macy’s ended the day 1.43% lower at $24.86.
Crude oil rose to a two-year high after a report showed an unexpected decline in inventories. Crude oil for delivery in December climbed by $1.09 to settle at $87.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for December delivery settled 0.7% higher at $88.96 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.