NEW YORK, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday as investors digested the latest economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 181.18 points, or 0.70 percent, to 26,031.81. The S&P 500 rose 17.79 points, or 0.64 percent, to 2,792.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 67.84 points, or 0.91 percent, to 7,527.54.
On the economic front, U.S. existing home sales dropped 1.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.94 million units in January, the lowest level in more than three years, said the National Association of Realtors on Thursday. The drop in January came after months of weakness in the U.S. housing market.
The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, but the four-week moving average rose to a more than one-year high, pointing to a slowing labor market.
The four-week moving average was 235,750, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 231,750. This is the highest level for this average since Jan. 20, 2018, when it was 237,500.
On corporate news, shares of Intel climbed 2.10 percent to close at 52.49 U.S. dollars apiece after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight.
