Wall Street was in a buying mood yesterday after the government's latest gross domestic product reading showed the economy was in better shape than expected, easing concerns that growth was moderating too sharply.
The Dow rose 90.28 to 12,226.73. It had a 14.74 gain Tuesday, following Monday's 158-point drop.
The S&P 500 was up 12.76 at 1,399.48, and the Nasdaq added 19.62 to 2,432.23.
Investors were upbeat after a series of reports, including GDP, pointed to the likelihood of an economic soft landing after more than two years of interest rate hikes that ended in June.
Stocks held on to gains throughout the session even as oil prices moved to their highest levels in two months. With inventories falling more than expected, a barrel of light sweet shot up $1.47 to $62.46 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Easing worries was the Commerce Department's report that GDP expanded at a 2.2% annual rate, topping its previous estimate of 1.6% and economists' projections for a 1.8% gain.
Also, the Federal Reserve said in its beige book report on regional economic conditions that most areas of the U.S. had moderate growth in the first few weeks of November as consumer spending grew.
The pair of economic reports also indicated the housing slump hasn't been too much of a drag on the economy, and offset a Commerce Department report that showed new home sales in October suffered their largest drop since July.
"The most recent data confirms the basic picture we've seen for some months is that it looks like we're heading toward a soft landing, inflationary pressure is easing, and that the housing market hasn't collapsed as some feared," said Ed Keon, chief investment strategist with Prudential Equity Group. "Soft landings, when we've had them, are great for stocks."
RELATED