Stocks Ended Mostly Lower ahead of Thanksgiving

U.S. stocks ended mostly lower on Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 173.77 points, or 0.58%, to 29,872.47. The S&P 500 slipped 5.76 points, or 0.16%, to 3,629.65. The Nasdaq Composite added 57.62 points, or 0.48%, to 12,094.40.

Oil futures continued to steam higher Wednesday, closing at a more-than-eight-month high on continued optimism over progress toward COVID-19 vaccines and a drop in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery rose 80 cents, or 1.8%, to end at $45.71 a barrel. January Brent crude advanced 75 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $48.61 a barrel.

The number of Americans who applied for state unemployment benefits in late November rose for the second week in a row to a five-week high. Initial jobless claims increased by a seasonally adjusted 30,000 to 778,000 in the seven days ended Nov. 21.