Meanwhile, continuing jobless claims also declined for the week ended Dec. 11 to a total of 1.859 million, fall from the prior week's upwardly revised total of 1.867 million.
Stocks rose for a third day on Thursday, with the S&P 500 closing at a new record, as investors shook off Omicron concerns heading into the end of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added nearly 200 points while the Nasdaq climbed over 0.8%. The S&P 500 now sits less than 0.4% from its intraday record high.
Market benchmarks also all ended the week in the green, with the Nasdaq outperforming with a gain of nearly 3.2% while the Dow and S&P 500 added 1.6% and 2.3%, respectively. U.S. markets are closed Friday for the Christmas holiday.
Here's how the market settled to close out the shortened holiday week:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Merck COVID antiviral pill authorized by FDA:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday authorized Merck's
Merck's treatment, called molnupiravir, was developed in partnership with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and is cleared for use in adults with mild to moderate COVDI infection who are at risk of severe disease, according to the FDA. The treatment reduced the risk of hospitalization and death among high-risk COVID patients by 30% in clinical trials.
Consumer sentiment gains in December:
Consumer sentiment increase in December after falling to a decade-low in November as U.S. households grew more positive towards the economy and their personal finance outlooks.
The University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index reading for December rose to 70.6 from November's print of 67.4, according to data released on Thursday. Survey respondents now expect inflation to rise 2.9% over the next 5 to 10 years and for prices to climb by 4.8% over the next year.
However, Surveys of Consumers Chief Economist Richard Curtin noted in a press statement: "Importantly, too few interviews were conducted to capture the impact of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the U.S. Confidence and spending are likely to be depressed in January, but it is too early to know the eventual impact of Omicron on the economy."
New homes sales rise higher in November:
Sales of new U.S. homes jumped by 12.4% in November, according to the Census Bureau's report published Thursday, which was a seven-month high. Sales rose by 82,000 over October's print to 744,000 last month.
The median sales price of a new home sold in November was $416,000, according to the Census Bureau, a 14.1% rise from the same month a year ago.
Consumer prices rise at fastest pace in nearly four decades last month:
U.S. consumer prices accelerated at the fastest pace in nearly four decades in the 12 months ended in November, as consumers were met with rising inflation levels ahead of the holiday shopping season.
November's consumer rose by 5.7% over the past 12 months, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday, which was the fastest gain in 39 years. The month's print followed a 5.1% rise for hte 2 months ending in October.
Meanwhile, personal spending rose 0.6% in November, which was a slowdown from last month's print of 1.4%. Personal incomes rose 0.4% in November, also down slightly from October's increase of 0.5%.
Weekly jobless claims remain at pre-pandemic lows:
Initial jobless claims remained at pre-pandemic lows last week as the unemployment market continues its downward trend from the highs experienced at the beginning of the pandemic.
New unemployment claims totaled 205,000 for the week ended Dec. 18, according to the Labor Department's latest report published Thursday. That total was on par with the previous week's downwardly revised print of 205,000.
