Wall Street settles near record highs, S&P posts record close

Wall Street stabilized at the end of the trading session on Thursday, buoyed by Fed Chief Jerome Powell's remarks, to shrug off weak economic data, as S&P 500 posted at a fresh record high.

Powell said before the House Budget Committee that the US economic growth outlook is moderate and the labor market is strong, adding that any economic disaster could be quite far off.

The Fed Chief also said that the Fed won't change its monetary policy in the near-term to assess the implications of this year's three rate cuts on the US economy.

Wall Street Journal reported sources said that the US-China trade talks are facing sticking points, as the two sides disagree on the amount of farm goods that China will commit to.

Data showed today, that the number of unemployment claims in the US increased by 14K to a total of 225K last week (the highest since June), while the PPI rose by 1.1% in October (the slowest growth pace in 3 years).

To the oil market, WTI fell by 0.6% to close at $56.77 a barrel, with a session-high of $57.7 and a low of $56.8.

Brent fell by 0.1% to $62.28 a barrel, with a high of $63.2 and a low of $62.2.

As for stocks, Dow Jones lost only 1 point and settled at 27,782, and hit an intraday high of 27,800 and a low of 27,676.

Nasdaq slipped 3 points to close at 8,479, with high of 8,485 and a low of 8,441.

While S&P 500 rose by 2.5 points to 3,096, with high of 3,098 and a low of 3,083.