Indices closed in positive territory Thursday. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and General Electric led the Dow’s ascent. Stocks stepped up amid favorable economic news. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to a 44-month low. New claims dropped by 4,000 to a better-than-expected 364,000. Economists had anticipated a jump to 375,000. Meanwhile, consumer confidence increased this month. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index hit 69.9 in December, following a revised reading of 64.1 in November. Economists had expected a lesser rise to 68, following an original reading of 67.7 in the prior month. Elsewhere, the Conference Board’s index of leading indicators rose 0.5% in November, exceeding the 0.3% forecast and adding to the 0.9% uptick in October. In other news, crude oil tacked on 86 cents to settle at $99.53 a barrel.
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