According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, new residential construction rose 3.9 percent in November. Unfortunately, this was not enough to help us compete with November 2009 levels which we are still 5.8 percent below. Building permits for private homes were also increased, a total of 4 percent from October levels, but were down 14.7 percent from November 2009 levels. You can access the full report here.
Last week, new unemployment claims fell by 3,000. This is the second week in a row that new claims have dropped and this trend has given some much needed comfort to investors worried about recent employment data. You can read the Labor Department’s full report here.
Investors reacted positively to this news today and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 41.78 points to 11,499.25 while the Nasdaq climbed 20.09 points to 2,637.31. The S&P 500 gained 7.64 points to 1,242.87.
European and Asian markets were mixed on Thursday. The biggest loss was with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng which fell 1.33 percent.
Stocks in the news: McDonald’s Corp (NYSE: MCD), American Express Co (NYSE: AXP), General Mills Inc (NYSE: GIS).
