Brands Rise

Stocks stepped up Monday. Alcoa, Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Chevron led the Dow’s ascent. Brands prospered amid optimism that euro zone debt hassles are on the way to being resolved. Volume was somewhat light in post-Thanksgiving action. Crude oil added $1.44 to close at $98.21 a barrel. On another note, sales of new homes increased last month. Sales jumped 1.3% in October to an annualized pace of 307,000. Additionally, on a year-ago basis, sales are up by 8.9%. Looking ahead to tomorrow, monthly existing-home sales data is due for release.  

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