Investing.com – Wall Street traded mixed although the Dow managed to hit new record highs on Wednesday as investors digested a deluge of data and prepared for the Thanksgiving holiday with U.S. markets closed on Thursday and open only a half-day on Friday.
At 11:14AM ET (16:14GMT), the Dow Jones gained 23 points, or 0.12%, the S&P 500 slipped 4 points, or 0.20% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite traded down 24 points, or 0.45%.
Amid a slew of data out on Wednesday, durable goods orders blew past expectations in October with core orders also beating in a positive sign for the U.S. economy.
Initial jobless claims rose slightly more than anticipated, though they remained in territory associated with a firming labor market and the four-week average dropped by 2,000 people.
Data on the real estate market was mixed with house price index for September rising more than expected, but new home sales registering an unexpected decline in October.
The Michigan consumer sentiment report for November was unexpectedly revised higher with confidence hitting a six-month high.
Investors are still waiting for the publication of the minutes from the last meeting of the Federal Reserve (Fed) out at 2PM ET(19:00GMT).
However, most experts felt that the release would garner few surprises wince Fed chair Janet Yellen already said that the committee that decides on interest rates felt at the meeting that a hike could “become appropriate relatively soon if incoming data provide some further evidence of continued progress toward the Committee's objectives.”
Furthermore, markets seemed to have digested the fact that the Federal Reserve (Fed) was planning to return on the path of policy normalization, with Fed fund futures pricing in the odds of a rate hike at the December 13-14 meeting at 95.4% on Tuesday, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
Odds had been wavering between 95% and 100% throughout this week.
A second increase in the price of money had also come into investors’ sights with odds recently crossing the 50% threshold for an additional hike of at least 25 basis points at the June 2017 meeting.
Specifically, Fed fund futures put the odds of a move at 59.1%, compared to just 46.8% last week.
Heightened rate hike expectations and the stronger than expected read on durable goods pushed the dollar higher and sank gold prices
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, surged to an intraday high 101.96, the strongest level since April 2003.
Inversely, the yellow metal hit a 9-month low. Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was last down 2.03% to $1,186.65 a troy ounce by 11:15AM ET (16:15GMT).
In big moves on earnings, Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) more than 9% after earnings per share more than doubled the consensus estimate.
GameStop (NYSE:GME) was up 6% despite expectations for a rough holiday season as the company reiterated its full-year forecast.
Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) tumbled more than 9% as profit, revenue and comparable sales all missed estimates.
HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ) fell 5% as a projected fall in earnings per share came out below expectations.
In other news, shares in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) sank more than 15% as the drug maker announced that phase 3 trials on its Alzheimer drug failed to meet objectives.
Meanwhile, oil prices managed to hold onto gains Wednesday as U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly fell.
Traders were still keeping an eye on the chances that OPEC would finally come to an agreement at their official meeting on November 30.
U.S. crude futures gained 0.35% to $48.20 by 11:16AM ET (15:16GMT), while Brent oil traded up 0.22% to $49.24.