The major indexes pushed higher in pre-market action Wednesday, as investors embraced a much better-than-expected reading on first-time jobless claims. Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow futures all gained ground ahead of the opening bell. The Labor Department said first-time unemployment claims fell to 407,000 last week. That was much better than the expected rise to 442,000 claimsm, and marked the lowest figure since July 2008. Elsewhere, durable goods orders tumbled 3.3% in October, a worse showing than the expected 0.3% decline. Excluding transportation, orders slumped 2.7%, the biggest dip since March 2009 and much worse than the expected 0.4% uptick. At 9:55 a.m. EST, the final reading from the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan November consumer sentiment index is due. Analysts expect a reading of 69.3, flat with the prior reading. Data on new home sales are due at 10 a.m. EDT. Economists expect sales rose by 7,000 homes to 314,000 in October. On the corporate earnings front, Deere (DE) posted fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $1.07 a share, topping estimates by 12 cents. Revenue gained 35% to $7.2 billion, also well above views. But the farm equipment maker projected 2011 profit of $2.1 billion, below consensus of $2.42 billion. The company blamed an expected increase in raw-material costs and a less favorable sales mix in its farm division. Shares of Tiffany (TIF) rose 4% in pre-market trade after the maker of fine jewelry posted earnings of 46 cents a share, besting views by 9 cents. Tiffany handled higher silver and gold costs by raising prices, which boosted its gross margin 3.7 percentage points to 58.5%.

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