By Anora Mahmudova and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch Jobless claims spike, consumer sentiment dips in November

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks were virtually unchanged, albeit modestly higher, on Wednesday as investors assessed a deluge of weaker-than-expected economic data ahead of Thanksgiving.

Trading on Wall Street is expected to be thin with many participants taking off early for the holiday.

The S&P 500 (SPX) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) traded in a narrow range, hovering near Tuesday's closing level. Big losses in energy and materials sectors due to falling oil prices, driven by concerns about what the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will do about oil oversupply, weighing on the benchmark index.

The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) and the Russell 2000 (RUT) was slightly higher.

Need to Know: Happy wealthy Thanksgiving and steer clear of Herbalife

Eric Wiegand, senior portfolio manager at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, described Wednesday's action as 'big data, little action'.

"It looks like investors are more worried about holiday travels than about economic data. The U.S. economy is muddling through, but it is still doing better than our biggest European and Asian trading partners," Wiegand said.

Economic reports on Wednesday were mostly disappointing. Weekly jobless claims spiked to the highest level in 11 weeks, in a sign that hiring may have slowed down a bit.

Consumer spending climbed by less than expected in October, while inflation remained below the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2%. Durable-goods orders rose, but thanks largely to orders for military aircraft.

The Chicago purchasing-managers index for November fell, due to a sharp drop in new orders. The University of Michigan Consumer sentiment index for November fell slightly.

Sales of new single-family homes ticked up 0.7% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000, the fastest pace in five months, the government reported Wednesday. Meanwhile, a gauge of pending home sales fell 1.1% in October, signaling that upcoming deals could slow down, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.

Long the S&P 500, and oil worries: Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG, has pointed out that funds are running the second-lowest short positions in S&P 500 futures for the year, while the cash market shows 88% of stocks are now above their 50-day moving average. That figure stood at 13% in mid-October, he said in a note.

This isn't screaming "selloff", as 20% of companies are still trading below their 200-day moving averages, said Weston in a note. But "a short-term move lower of 3-5% would be healthy for the next stage of the bull market to materialize, especially with the U.S. index trading at peak EBIT margins," he added.

Oil prices(CLF5) fell in a choppy session, as investors waited for Thursday's OPEC meeting. See: Saudi Arabia says oil market will 'stabilize itself'

Analysts at Jefferies said don't bet on any agreement coming out of OPEC that would be "big enough to spur a rally in Brent prices" in the near term. See: Oil traders are clearing out ahead of the OPEC decision

Stocks to watch: Deere & Co.(DE) posted better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results but said it expects sales of equipment to fall by more than a fifth.

Hertz Global Holdings(HTZ) gave up earlier gains which were triggered by a filing showing that activist investor Carl Icahn increased his stake in the car rental company by a quarter.

TASER International (TASRE) surged after the maker of electrical weapons used in law enforcement, announced that the Winston-Salem Police Department is purchasing the company's body cameras and other services.

Also read: Movers & Shakers

Other markets: European stocks made moderate gains, led by the German DAX 30 index . Japanese stocks broke a winning strength as the yen perked up against the dollar(USDJPY). Gold prices(GCZ4) tipped south.

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