US close: Wall Street mixed ahead of Thanksgiving holiday

Wall Street finished mixed on Wednesday, following the record highs set the day before and amid lighter-than-usual trading volumes ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.27% at 23,526.18 and the S&P 500 fell 0.08% to 2,597.08, while the Nasdaq 100 finished the session 0.12% firmer at 6,386.12.

On Tuesday, indices hit record highs as tech stocks rallied, with the likes of Facebook, Netflix and Amazon all in the black.

For the most part, Wednesday's batch of economic data releases were in line with market forecasts.

The key report on Wednesday was the University of Michigan's final reading on US consumer sentiment for the month of November, which was revised higher from a preliminary reading of 97.8 to 98., against a consensus for 98.2.

"In contrast to the media buzz about approaching cyclical peaks and an aging expansion, with the implication of greater uncertainty about future economic trends, consumers have voiced greater certainty about their expectations for income, employment, and inflation,” said Richard Curtin, the survey's chief economist.

"Overall, the data signal an expected gain of 2.7% in real consumption expenditures in 2018, and more importantly for retailers, the best run-up to the holiday shopping season in a decade,".

Elsewhere, the Department of Labor reported a 13,000-person drop in initial jobless claims for the week ending on 18 November to reach 239,000, just below consensus forecasts for 240,000.

Durable goods orders fell by a sharp 1.2% month-on-month in October, well ahead of consensus expectations for 0.3%, dragged down by large declines in the oft-volatile orders for civilian and defence aircraft.

However, excluding transportation equipment, orders rose by 0.4% on the month, just as expected.

On corporate front, Hewlett Packard Enterprise was 7.22% weaker after the company said late on Tuesday that chief executive Meg Whitman was leaving and issued a disappointing first-quarter outlook.

Salesforce shares were 1.81% lower - but just off their record highs - after the CRM specialist posted slightly stronger than forecast third quarter sales of $2.68bn but alongside guidance for the following three months that fell short of expectations.

Elsewhere, stock in Deere & Company gained 4.32% after the tractor-maker posted a 79% jump in profits for the fourth quarter.

Rockwell Automation was also in focus, dropping 1.04% after it rejected an unsolicited buyout bid from Emerson.

Dow Jones - Risers

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $47.10 1.95%
General Electric Co. (GE) $18.15 1.79%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $174.96 1.05%
Visa Inc. (V) $110.82 0.79%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $81.10 0.68%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $115.91 0.64%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $54.37 0.50%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $211.22 0.46%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $169.05 0.45%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $116.71 0.30%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $96.41 -1.10%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $70.60 -0.93%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $137.31 -0.76%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $83.11 -0.73%
Boeing Co. (BA) $265.15 -0.69%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $236.43 -0.67%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $44.65 -0.65%
American Express Co. (AXP) $93.83 -0.62%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $36.45 -0.55%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $172.07 -0.46%

S&P 500 - Risers

Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $7.90 11.58%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $70.03 5.02%
Medtronic Plc (MDT) $82.34 4.36%
Deere & Co. (DE) $145.25 4.32%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $34.19 4.21%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $3.97 4.20%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $21.06 3.90%
Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS) $100.59 3.83%
GameStop Corp. (GME) $17.37 3.83%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $23.89 3.71%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Signet Jewelers Ltd (SIG) $53.00 -30.12%
Spectra Energy Corp. (SE) $13.83 -10.72%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $13.10 -7.22%
HP Inc (HPQ) $21.34 -4.99%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $13.09 -2.60%
Tapestry Inc. (TPR) $41.02 -2.50%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $26.68 -2.13%
Mallinckrodt Plc Ordinary Shares (MNK) $21.38 -1.97%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $57.68 -1.90%
Regions Financial Corp. (RF) $15.56 -1.89%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Cerner Corp. (CERN) $70.03 5.02%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $149.78 3.42%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $16.72 3.15%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $17.79 3.13%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $69.95 2.91%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $249.65 2.19%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $68.13 2.19%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $126.98 1.68%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $51.01 1.57%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $215.35 1.56%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $26.68 -2.13%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $57.68 -1.90%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $215.17 -1.71%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $88.65 -1.71%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $312.60 -1.64%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $90.40 -1.60%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $108.54 -1.55%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $30.40 -1.49%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $72.24 -1.32%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $53.52 -1.27%