* Jobless claims down to lowest level in more than a year
* Home sales rise to 1-year high, offset durable goods data
* Volatility index hits 15-month low
* Dow up 0.3 pct, S&P 500 up 0.4 pct, Nasdaq up 0.4 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click []
(Updates to late afternoon, changes byline)
By Edward Krudy
NEW YORK, Nov 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday,
supported by data that pointed to stabilization in the labor and
housing markets, areas that have been fed concerns about a "double
dip" recession.
New claims for jobless benefits fell sharply in the latest
week, while sales of new U.S. single-family homes rose in
October to their highest level in a year.
That added to investors' risk appetite, which helped push
the safe-haven U.S. dollar to a 15-month low against a basket
of currencies <.DXY> and lifted commodity prices and natural
resource stocks.
Trading volume was light one day before the Thanksgiving
holiday, with many senior traders absent from trading floors.
Even so, the Dow industrials were set to close at a fresh
13-month high.
Fred Dickson, market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in
Lake Oswego, Oregon, said the drop in weekly jobless claims and
stronger home sales set a slightly better economic tone.
"It's a little bit of a Thanksgiving lift on Main Street,"
he said. "On a different day this week, we probably would have
seen a big bounce in the market."
He said some of the lift should spill over to next week
after a shorter trading day on Friday.
U.S. financial markets are shut on Thursday to mark
Thanksgiving. The U.S. stock market will close at 1 p.m. (1800
GMT) on Friday.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> gained 30.91
points, or 0.30 percent, to 10,464,62. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> rose 4.70 points, or 0.43 percent, to
1,110.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> added 7.70 points,
or 0.35 percent, to 2,176.88.
Gold stocks were having a big day as the price of gold
broke another record above $1,180 an ounce. U.S. gold miner
Newmont Mining Corp <NEM.N> rose 2.7 percent to $54.81.
The Arca Gold Bugs index <.HUI>, which measures the
performance of 15 gold miners with U.S. stock listings, rose
2.7 percent. The index is up 190 percent since late October
2008.
The Dow Jones industrial metals and mining index <.DJUSIM>
rose 2.2 percent as rising metal prices boosted miners'
stocks.
Shares of energy companies rose as U.S. front-month oil
futures <CLc1> climbed $1.94, or 2.6 percent, to settle at
$77.96 per barrel. Marathon Oil Corp <MRO.N> added 1.7 percent
to $33.57.
On the earnings front, shares of Tiffany & Co <TIF.N> added
5 percent to $43.91 after the luxury retailer reported
third-quarter earnings that beat expectations and raised its
full-year profit view. []
Deere & Co <DE.N> shares gained 3.3 percent to $54.03. The
world's largest maker of tractors and harvesters reported a
quarterly net loss on Wednesday on weak equipment sales and a
series of one-time charges. But the results excluding special
items were better than analysts' estimates [].
The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index <.VIX>,
or the VIX, a favorite barometer of investor sentiment, sank to
its lowest intraday level in 15 months, dropping as low as
20.05 intraday on Wednesday.
Yet another government report showed U.S. consumer spending
increased more than expected in October, while a final reading
of consumer sentiment was revised up slightly in November, but
was still down from October's reading, according to the
Reuters/University of Michigan survey. For details, see
[]
The positive economic data offset a report on new orders
for U.S. durable goods, or long-lasting U.S. manufactured
goods, which unexpectedly fell in October, weighing on stocks
in early morning trading.
(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Jan Paschal)
((edward.krudy@thomsonreuters.com; Tel: +1-646-223-6314;
Reuters Messaging: edward.krudy@reuters.com@reuters.net))
