The main stock indexes showed a steady increase, with the Dow Jones industrial index breaking through the 24,000 mark for the first time in history, amid the fact that President Donald Trump's tax cuts plan can receive sufficient support for implementation.

The focus was also on the United States. The US Department of Commerce said consumer spending rose 0.3% in October after nearly 1% growth in the previous month, which was the largest increase in eight years. The result coincided with the forecasts of economists. Personal incomes grew by 0.4% for the second month in a row. Meanwhile, the savings rate increased to 3.2% from 3%. In September, savings fell to a 10-year low. The PCE index, the Fed's preferred inflation rate, rose 0.1% in October. The so-called "basic" indicator, which excludes food and energy, increased by 0.2%.

In addition, it became known that the number of Americans applying for new unemployment benefits fell last week, confirming the overall strength of the labor market. Initial applications for unemployment benefits, a gauge of layoffs in the US, fell by 2,000 to 238,000, seasonally adjusted in the week ending November 25, the Ministry of Labor said. Economists were expecting 240,000 new applications last week. The drop in appeals indicates a strong and continuing tightening of the labor market, which can contribute to the growth of wages. Employers in the US accelerated hiring in October, reducing the unemployment rate to 4.1%, which is the lowest since the early 2000s.

Most components of the DOW index recorded a rise (24 out of 30). The leader of growth was the shares of United Technologies Corporation (UTX, + 2.88%). Outsider were shares of General Electric Company (GE, -1.27%).

All sectors of the S & P index finished trading in positive territory. The industrial goods sector grew most (+ 1.1%).

At closing:

DJIA + 1.39% 24,272.56 +331.88

Nasdaq + 0.73% 6,873.97 +49.58

S & P + 0.82% 2,647.56 +21.49

U.S. stock-index futures were moderately higher on Thursday as tech stocks recovered, while investors monitored developments surrounding a U.S. tax bill and awaited the outcomes of the OPEC meeting.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei 22,724.96 +127.76 +0.57%

Hang Seng 29,177.35 -446.48 -1.51%

Shanghai 3,317.58 -20.28 -0.61%

S&P/ASX 5,969.89 -41.22 -0.69%

FTSE 7,381.48 -12.08 -0.16%

CAC 5,411.23 +13.18 +0.24%

DAX 13,127.31 +65.44 +0.50%

Crude $57.76 (+0.80%)

Gold $1,276.00 (-0.48%)

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

Amazon (AMZN) target raised to $1500 from $1300 at DA Davidson

Barrick Gold (ABX) downgraded to Sell from Buy at Citigroup

European stocks closed at a nearly three-week high on Wednesday, boosted by a rally in the region's bank shares a day after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman-nominee Jerome Powell said he hopes to ease financial regulations. The U.K. stock market, however, missed out on the European bounce as the pound rallied after signs of a breakthrough in Brexit negotiations between London and Brussels.

U.S. benchmark stock indexes ended mixed on Wednesday. The Dow hit a fresh record close, whereas the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell after tech stocks came under selling pressure. So-called FAANG stocks like Apple AAPL, -2.07% , Amazon AMZN, -2.71% and Google GOOG, -2.46% shed more than 2% of their value.

The week's global decline in technology stocks continued Thursday, weighing on Asian markets. Asian chip shares fell after fresh selling in the U.S. overnight, with the Nasdaq Composite falling 1.3% during a 4.4% slump in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, its biggest drop of the year.

(index / closing price / change items /% change)

Nikkei +110.96 22597.20 +0.49%

TOPIX +14.08 1786.15 +0.79%

Hang Seng -57.02 29623.83 -0.19%

CSI 300 -2.07 4053.75 -0.05%

Euro Stoxx 50 +6.42 3589.91 +0.18%

FTSE 100 -67.09 7393.56 -0.90%

DAX +2.34 13061.87 +0.02%

CAC 40 +7.57 5398.05 +0.14%

DJIA +103.97 23940.68 +0.44%

S&P 500 -0.97 2626.07 -0.04%

NASDAQ -87.97 6824.39 -1.27%

S&P/TSX -61.92 15967.72 -0.39%