Sabrina Siddiqui

Sales of existing homes increased half a percent from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million.

That's according to the National Association of Realtors.

Nicole Friedman covers the U.S.

housing market for us, and she says lower borrowing costs have injected some momentum into what's otherwise been a slow market.

In other economic data out today, consumer sentiment improved a bit in December, but people remain largely pessimistic as households continue to grapple with high prices and a challenging job market.

That's according to the University of Michigan's monthly survey, which found that inflation is still weighing on consumers and more than 60% expect joblessness to keep rising over the next year.

Many economists project a stronger U.S.

economic outlook in 2026 as uncertainty over U.S.

trade policy fades and business-friendly tax changes kick in.

U.S.

stocks rallied today to close out the week near fresh records.

Tech shares continued their rebound, with the Nasdaq posting a 1.3% jump.

The S&P 500 rose 0.9% and the Dow climbed 0.4%.

Both are now about 1% away from their all-time highs.

Nine pharmaceutical companies, including Bristol-Myers Squibb, GSK, and Merck, have agreed to lower drug prices for certain federal programs and patients in exchange for reprieves on tariffs.

President Trump announced the deals at the White House today.

The announcement follows similar drug pricing agreements between the administration and other drug makers.

Tesla has won its fight over a record-breaking 2018 pay package for CEO Elon Musk.

The Delaware Supreme Court issued an opinion today reversing an earlier decision that rescinded Musk's pay package.

The decision ends a years-long legal battle over compensation that grew in value to total more than $126 billion.