US stocks were little changed early on Thursday despite a pre-holiday flurry of data that reinforced views of a solid economic growth as Wall Street sought to notch a fourth straight week of gains. New home sales and prices edged up in November, while consumer sentiment rose in December to its highest level since June.
Other reports were mostly in line with expectations, with jobless claims suggesting unemployment will stay stubbornly high. But consumer spending rose for a fifth month, while durable goods orders posted their largest increase since March. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 12.45 points, or 0.11 percent, to 11,571.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 dipped 1.06 points, or 0.08 percent to 1,257.78. The Nasdaq Composite shed 3.39 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,668.09. Volume was expected to be low as Wall Street takes a break Friday for the Christmas holiday.
The S&P 500 rose Wednesday to its highest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers more than two years ago, led by bank stocks. The S&P 500 rose 7.6 percent in the last two months of 2009, only to peak mid-January, then fall 2 percent that month.
Retail stocks got a boost as Bed Bath & Beyond Inc rose 6 percent to $50.51 after it beat quarterly profit estimates and forecast a strong holiday season. Fabric and crafts retailer Jo-Ann Stores Inc jumped 32.2 percent to $60.33 after a deal to be bought by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners for about $1.6 billion, or $61 per share.
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