At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index advanced 114.32 points, or 0.38%, to 30,129.83. The S&P 500 index was up 2.75 points, or 0.07%, to 3,690.01. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index declined 36.80 points, or 0.29%, to 12,771.11.
Gains by financial, communication services, energy and other sectors were kept in check by declines elsewhere, including technology companies, which helped pulled the Nasdaq slightly lower.
The government released an avalanche of data on the economy that showed some optimistic signs and several disappointing ones. U.S. household spending fell in November for the first time since April, and incomes also dropped, signs the virus is weighing on economic growth. Jobless claims fell to 803,000 last week, a retreat from a three-month high.
Trump threatened not to sign an $900 billion coronavirus relief bill, saying he wants Congress to increase the amount in the stimulus checks which lawmakers approved on Monday. Trump said late Tuesday that he wants to see bigger cash payments going to most Americans, up to $2,000 for individuals. He also criticized other parts of the bill.
COVID-19 cases continued to surge in the United States, with more than a million new cases in just six days, and Americans were warned again to avoid travelling for Christmas.
Pfizer and the US government reached a new deal worth nearly $2 billion for 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses. 70 million additional doses would be available to the US by the end of June 2021, with an additional 30 million doses available by the end of July 2021.
ECONOMIC NEWS: US Weekly Jobless Claims Pull Back Significantly- US first-time claims for unemployment benefits showed a significant pullback in the week ended December 19th, the Labor Department revealed in a report released on Wednesday. The report said initial jobless claims slid to 803,000, a decrease of 89,000 from the previous week's revised level of 892,000. The unexpected pullback came after jobless claims reached their highest level since early September in the previous week.
US New Home Sales Plunge In November- US new home sales plunged by 11% to an annual rate of 841,000 in November after sliding by 2.1% to a revised rate of 945,000 in October, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday. Revised data showed new home sales dropped for the fourth consecutive month, hitting their lowest annual rate since June. The much bigger than expected decrease was partly due to a steep drop in new home sales in the Midwest, which plunged by 43.3% to a rate of 59,000.
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