Stocks opened higher Monday and maintained their lead throughout the afternoon with all the major equity sectors advancing, and sizable gains in the Technology, Consumer Discretionary, and Financial sectors. The next day, the stock market started lower, giving back some of Monday’s gains. However, positive comments from the Federal Reserve suggesting that rate hikes may slow in 2019 helped the indices turn around. In economic news, consumer confidence slipped for the first time in five months as the November reading came in at 135.7, compared to October’s read of 137.9. However, the number is much higher than in the prior-year period, which can point to a stronger year-end quarter. Stocks posted gains on Wednesday with indices closing in the green across the board. Comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell bolstered the ascent. Speaking at the Economic Club in New York, Mr. Powell said interest rates were, "just below the broad range of estimates of the level that would be neutral for the economy." On another note, Gross Domestic Product results remained strong but slowed slightly in the third quarter. In a second measure, real GDP grew 3.5% following a 4.2% gain in the second quarter. Indices landed in the red zone on Thursday with stocks trading slightly lower ahead of this weekend's summit between Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Looking elsewhere, initial jobless claims increased last week. For the week ended November 24, Department of Labor data showed new claims rose by 10,000 to 234,000. While the market had a rocky start, the major indices managed to gain ground by the afternoon. The S&P 500 index was up 4.85% for the week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5.16%. The tech-heavy NASDAQ closed the week with a gain of 5.64%. In economic news, the Chicago PMI increased to 66.4 for the month of November, which was well beyond what The Street had been anticipating.