Wall Street advanced Wednesday on the quiet holiday session. Major averages were led higher by advancing and solid data from overseas in hopes that a global recovery is picking up steam. The blue chips saw their 6th consecutive gain as the Dow Jones Industrial average rose 44.29, or 0.4 percent, to 10,291.26. The S&P 500 index rose 5.50, or 0.5 percent, to 1,098.51 topping 1,100 before falling back. The Nasdaq composite index rose 15.82, or 0.7 percent, to 2,166.90. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 5.74, or 1 percent, to 592.71.

Morning Outlook

Ahead of weekly jobless claims, futures on the street are tilted negative. DJIA futures are down 20, or 0.2 percent, at 10,239. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures are down 2.40, or 0.2 percent, at 1,093.90, while Nasdaq 100 index futures are down 2.75, or 0.2 percent, at 1,781.00. Traders will certainly have alot more news and data to alter trading today compared to the past two sessions as the street is looking to finish the week strong. Will we see a pullback as the S&P wasn’t able to hold 1100?

On the Corporate Front

Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT) reported quarterly earnings in the premarket. Profit at the world’s largest retailer was $3.24 billion, or 84 cents per a share, while revenue rose to $99.4 billion from $98.3 billion. This compares with analyst estimates of 81 cents on revenue of $99.9 billion. Same store sales saw a decline of 0.4%. I am sure Sarah Palin’s book will help with sales, but at $9.98 I doubt that does much for the bottom line!

Currencies and Commodities

The dollar fell 0.0618% at 89.814 yen in the currency market. The euro declined 0.4214% at $1.4924 while the pound dipped 0.1146% to $1.6555 . Gold advanced to $1115.80 an ounce after gaining $1.20, while silver soared 0.24% at $17.29. Light, sweet crude for December lost 70 cents to $78.58 per barrel on the NYMEX; an 0.88% decline ahead of todays inventory report.

Economic Calendar

8:30 AM

Jobless Claims: New unemployment claims for the week of November 7th , to show the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. The fewer people filing for unemployment benefits, the more have jobs, the more income in the consumer’s pocket, as well as a forecast on the strength of the economy. The consensus is for an increase of 512,000 for first time jobless claims, level with last week’s reading of 550,000; while continuing claims fell 68,000 to 5.886 million for the 7th straight decline.

2:00 PM

Treasury Budget: a monthly account of the surplus or deficit of the federal government. The higher the deficit, the more Treasury notes and bonds the government must sell, and therefore the prices of such auctioned securities will adjust accordingly. The consensus for October is for a fiscal deficit of $150 billion, down from $-46.6 billion in September as government funds continue to help resuscitate the economy. Over the past 10 years, the average deficit for the month of October has been $61.7 billion and $89.3 billion over the past 5 years.