Friday, November 22, 2013

Stock futures on fence after record Dow close

U.S. stock futures traded water after the Dow Jones industrial average index closed above the 16,000 level for the first time in the previous trading session.

Ahead of Friday's opening bell, Dow futures dipped 0.04% and Standard & Poor's 500 index futures added 0.03%. Nasdaq index futures rose slightly — by 0.1%.

On Thursday, the Dow rose 0.7% to 16,009.99. The S&P 500 index rose 0.8% to 1,795.85. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.2% to 3,969.15.

THURSDAY: Dow closes above 16,000 for the first time

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The Dow has been propelled higher by a combination of solid corporate earnings, a steadily strengthening economy and the Fed's monetary policy.

The Dow's first close above 16,000 pushed most Asian stocks higher Friday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average rose 0.1% to 15,381.72 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5% to 23,691.48.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude for January delivery was down 26 cents at $95.18 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $1.59 to close at $95.44 on Thursday after the U.S. government said monthly unemployment claims fell in a sign of an improving job market.

Contributing: Associated Press

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