2014.11.2602:37:46UTC+00US stocks hover near records on better-than-expected GDP

US stocks was steady near record highs with the S&P 500 staying close to its record high yesterday as released GDP proved to do better-than-anticipated. The data proved that the economy had expanded for the third quarter by more than what had been expected and it would’ve been more if consumer confidence hadn’t declined.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.02% or 2.96 points to 17,814.94 after it swung near the neutral. The S&P 500 inched down by 0.12% or 2.38 points to 2,067.03 following an intraday record. Among the gauge’s ten major industry groups, consumer performed best while energy was the biggest laggard. The Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.07% or 3.36 points to 4,758.25. The trend showed that for every eight shares that advanced, seven retreated. The New York Stock Exchange witnessed 846 million shares change hands with the composite volume approaching 3.4 billion.

Tiffany & Co. added 2.5% with consumer-discretionary on a six-day winning streak and an all-time high in the S&P gauge. Campbell Soup after it posted a better-than expected earnings while the market capitalization of Apple cleared the $700 billion mark.

Principal and head equity trader at Williams Capital Group, Stephen Carl, commented to Bloomberg that several economic data such as the GDP appeared good however Carl is uncertain about how sustainable these numbers are. Carl adds that the market needs more gains and more activity to sustain the economy as consumer confidence was modestly off that may serve as a catalyst for a decline.

The gross domestic product or GDP added 3.9% compared to the forecast of 3.5% according to the Commerce Department. Meanwhile, the consumer confidence of the Conference Board dropped to  88.7 for the month of November. In October it was at 94.1