NEW YORK — Stocks ended a Christmas Eve-shortened session Thursday at new highs for the year after upbeat reports on unemployment and durable-goods orders.
A weaker dollar also helped buoy the market, lifting energy and materials stocks. Trading was extremely light.
The encouraging signs of the labor market and consumer demand helped assuage investors, who were disappointed the day before by an unexpected drop in new-home sales last month.
New claims for unemployment benefits fell 28,000 to 452,000 last week, the Labor Department reported, the latest sign of improvement in the job market. It was the best figure since September 2008, just before the credit crisis peaked, and better than the 470,000 new claims economists had predicted.
Separately, the Commerce Department said orders to factories for durable goods excluding the volatile transportation sector jumped 2 percent last month, double what analysts expected.
Stocks have managed to push higher in December on optimism about the economy, but at a more subdued pace than in recent months. As the year winds to a close, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index up 66.5 percent since hitting 12-year lows in March.
This week’s trading pattern reflected the market’s recent cautious tone. On Monday, stocks shot higher as another wave of corporate deal making boosted investors’ optimism.Two days later, shares barely budged after the disappointing report on housing.
“The news on balance is pretty good,” said Uri Landesman, head of global growth, ING Investment Management. “The market continues to inch higher.”
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 53.66, or 0.5 percent, to 10,520.10. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5.89, or 0.5 percent, to 1,126.48, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 16.05, or 0.7 percent, to 2,285.69.
Rising shares outnumbered decliners by about 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 1.24 billion shares, compared with 3.22 billion Wednesday.
Trading has been slow throughout the week leading up to Christmas, which can exaggerate swings in stock prices. The market closed early Thursday and will remain closed today.
Volume is likely to remain light next week, which will be shortened by New Year’s Day next Friday. Outside of readings on home prices and consumer confidence, there will be few economic reports to drive trading.
The final days of the year are often good for stocks, though. Since 1950, the S&P 500 has advanced an average of 1.5 percent during the seven trading days that start with Christmas Eve and end with the first two days in January.
In industry news, healthcare stocks were little changed after landmark health-care overhaul legislation cleared the Senate. Some analysts said the sector could have fared much worse in the bill.
Business, Pages 26 on 12/25/2009