US stocks rise a bit on mixed data

US stocks rose slightly in early trade Wednesday following a stream of economic data in the last trading session ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

About 25 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,834.20, up 22.01 points (0.12 percent).

The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.78 (0.04 percent) at 2,089.92, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 7.64 (0.15 percent) to 5,110.45.

US data showed a dip in weekly jobless claims, but a disappointing gain of just 0.1 percent in personal spending in October. Durable goods orders rose a solid 3.0 percent based on strong transportation orders.

Trading volumes were expected to be light due to Thanksgiving. US stock markets are shut Thursday and will close early on Friday.

Equity markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt notched solid gains after retreating on Tuesday following the Turkish downing of a Russian fighter jet on the Syrian border.

Farm-equipment maker Deere climbed 3.4 percent despite reporting lower earnings and forecasting a seven percent drop in equipment sales in 2016. Deere said its outlook "represents a level of performance that is considerably better than we have experienced in previous downturns."

HP plunged 14.8 percent after forecasting earnings of 33-38 cents per share in the fiscal first quarter of 2016, below the 42 cents projected by analysts.

Mining companies fell on lower copper prices. Freeport-McMoRan dropped 3.0 percent and Southern Copper lost 2.1 percent.

Hormel Foods rose 2.5 percent as it announced a two-for-one stock split.