A triad of favorable economic reports on Thursday showed a drop in jobless claims, record sales for new homes and a less-than-expected drop in orders for durable goods.

Orders for durable goods slipped 0.6% in August, according to the Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, but economists had been expecting a 2.6% drop. The decline only offset part of the huge July gain and still allowed manufacturers to cut inventories 0.2% and boost unfilled orders 0.4%, the second monthly gain after a long period of decline.
"The outlook for freight volume in still very good," said Jim Haughey, Newport Communications' senior economist. Haughey added that capital goods orders often come in bunches with big gains followed by declines. "The average for July and August together shows shipments up 1% a month and orders up 4% a month."
The pickup in durable goods manufacturing in the last two months excludes data for semiconductor manufacturers that have refused to report results to the Commerce Department. But production, export and industry trade association reports suggest that semiconductor manufacturers, while still at depressed levels, are expanding very rapidly.
Manufactured durable goods are those designed to last three years or more, such as appliances, vehicles and computers.
Meanwhile, a Labor Department report Thursday showed initial claims for jobless benefits fell to 406,000 last week, well below the 421,000 figure Wall Street was anticipating.
The third government report showed that sales of new homes in the United States rose to a record level last month, as low interest rates continued to fuel home buying. The Commerce Department said sales of new single-family homes climbed 1.9% to an annual rate of 996,000 units last month from a revised 977,000 in July. Economists expected a pace of only 981,000.