Stocks Slip

Stocks slipped today in pre-Thanksgiving trading. Bank of America, Alcoa, JPMorgan Chase, and Hewlett-Packard led the Dow’s descent. Brands dipped amid a variety of economic data. Crude oil shed $1.84 to settle at $96.17 a barrel. Meanwhile, consumer confidence ramped up this month. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index registered a final reading of 64.1 for November. Up from 60.9 in October, the result was slightly lower than an expected reading of 64.5. Elsewhere, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose 2,000 to 393,000 last week. In other news, durable goods orders fell 0.7% last month, beating the forecast for a steeper 1.5% drop. Personal income was up 0.4% in October, exceeding an expected 0.3% gain. Spending edged up 0.1%, which was shy of an anticipated 0.3% rise.

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