U.S. MARKET AVERAGES

U.S. stocks slightly advanced at the start of Wednesday session on the back of better-than-expected Gross Domestic Product data. The 4.3% rise in the third quarter is a healthy sign for economically sensitive stocks. Shares of heavy equipment maker Caterpillar and American Express Co climbed on the favorable news. There has been very little movement since the initial stock rise and currently the three major averages are posting modest gains, each showing an advance of 0.2%.

The Commerce Department said the U.S. economy expanded at a 4.3% rate in the July-September period, faster than the 3.8% previously reported by the government and higher than economists' forecasts of 4.1%. Inflation components in the GDP report, such as the GDP deflator and the personal expenditure index, remained within expectations.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 22.41 points, or 0.21%. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 2.48 points, or 0.20% The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 4.30 points, or 0.19%.

The airline sector is ticking up in the early going, rising by nearly 1%. The gaming space is also strong. Energy stocks are showing gains, despite weakness in oil prices.

The gold sector is a notable mover to the downside, falling by more than 1.6%. There is some weakness among bank and insurance stocks.

BioCryst (BCRX: chart) is among the best performers in the early going after it revealed acollaboration with Roche to develop BCX-4208 for transplantation and autoimmune diseases. The stock is currently up 19%.

Quality Systems (QSII: chart) is a notable decliner after Piper Jaffray downgraded its rating on the stock to Market Perform from Outperform. The stock is currently down nearly 6%.

ECONOMIC NEWS

Crude oil inventories dropped sharply in the most recent week, according to government data released Wednesday. Stocks of gasoline edged lower as well.

The Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration revealed that crude oil inventories fell by 4.2 million barrels for the week ended November 25, falling to 317.6 million barrels from the prior week's level of 321.8 million barrels. This followed an advance of 400,000 barrels in the previous week. Oil inventories were 10.3% higher than their levels of the same time last year.

Gasoline inventories posted a week-over-week decline of 500,000 barrels, the government said, more than reversing the previous week's advance of 200,000 barrels. Gasoline stocks were 4.8% below their levels of last year. Inventories of distillate fuel oil rose by 3.4 million barrels in the most recent week.

The U.S. economy grew at a faster than expected pace in the third quarter, according to a report from the Department of Commerce that is likely to generate some optimism about the strength of the economy.

The report showed that GDP rose at an annual rate of 4.3 percent in the third quarter compared to the 3.3 percent growth seen in the second quarter. Economists had been expecting third quarter GDP growth to be revised up to 4.1 percent from an advance reading of 3.8 percent.

The GDP growth was partly due to growth in consumer spending, which rose by 4.2 percent in the third quarter after rising by 3.4 percent in the second quarter. The growth also reflected increased equipment and software spending, federal government spending, and residential fixed investment.

INTERNATIONAL MARKET NEWS

Asian-Pacific benchmarks closed mixed with the Nikkei crossing 15,000 for the first time in 5 years, but eventually finished lower 0.4% as investors locked in recent profits from technology, banking and steel stocks. Across the region, South Korea’s Kospi surged 1.4%, while Australia’s All Ordinaries lost 0.9%, followed by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, down 0.6%.

European markets declined at mid-day, dragged by lower close of U.S. markets overnight and weak oil and mining stocks. Losses were cushioned by positive corporate news from Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus Group and Danish telecommunications carrier TDC. The German DAX 30 lost 0.3%, the French CAC 40 slipped 0.5%, and London’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.6%.

OIL, METALS, CURRENCIES