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[madrose1]

Wall St Week Ahead-Holiday week to leave stocks adrift
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/031123/column_stocks_outlook_1.html

Investors will also want to wait until the days shortly after Thanksgiving -- generally viewed as the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season -- for hints on how strong consumer spending is likely to be during that key period.


Microchip production equipment maker Novellus Systems Inc. (NasdaqNM:NVLS - News) may briefly grab the spotlight when it issues its mid-quarter update after Monday's close.

In the week's economic news, The Conference Board's November consumer confidence index, due on Tuesday, is expected to show modest gain to 85.0 from 81.1 last month, according to economists in a Reuters poll.

Those economists also predicted that durable goods orders, due in a report on Wednesday, rose 0.8 percent in October, following a revised gain of 1.1 percent the previous month.

Weekly jobless claims data will be particularly key after first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected on Thursday. Economists predicted claims in the week ended Nov. 22 will total 360,000, which would be an increase from the 355,000 claims filed in the previous week.