04:02 PM EST, 12/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes ended higher Friday as markets parsed the latest economic data, including a report showing that the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric unexpectedly held steady last month.

* US consumer spending growth accelerated in November, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said. The Fed's preferred core measure, which excludes food and energy, was flat last month at 2.8% annually and eased to 0.1% from 0.3% sequentially. Analysts predicted 2.9% and 0.2% growth, respectively.

* US consumer sentiment grew in December to the highest since April, while year-ahead inflation expectations logged its first month-over-month increase in seven months, final results from the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers showed.

* "Broadly speaking, consumers believe that the economy has improved considerably as inflation has slowed, but they do not feel that they are thriving," said Joanne Hsu, the director of surveys of consumers.

* February West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed up $0.24 to settle at $69.62 per barrel, while February Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $0.16 to $73.04.

* Humana (HUM) appointed Japan Mehta as chief information officer, effective in the first quarter, succeeding Sam Deshpande. The health insurer's shares rose 4.8%

* Novo Nordisk's ( NVO ) shares tumbled 18% after clinical trial results of the Danish pharmaceutical giant's investigative weight loss drug fell short of its own expectations.