Commerce said earlier that personal income rose 0.4 percent in November, which pushed consumer spending 0.5 percent higher than October.
The reports came a day after the Commerce Department downgraded its estimate of third-quarter economic growth.
With fresh data to work with, the government said its previous estimate of 3.5 percent growth was sharply off, revising the final figure to 2.2 percent.
In early afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average slid 5.29 points to 0.05 percent to 10,470.22. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 2.57 or 0.23 percent to 1,120.59. The Nasdaq composite index added 14.53 or 0.65 percent to 2,267.20.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bill rose 6/32 to yield 3.73 percent.
The euro rose to $1.4351 from Tuesday's $1.4252. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 91.501 yen from Tuesday's 91.8 yen.
In Britain, the FTSE 100 index gained 0.82 percent, 43.72, to 5,372.38.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International.
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