04:01 PM EST, 11/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes ended higher Friday as markets assessed the latest economic data, including a report showing that private sector output hit the highest level since April 2022.

* US private sector output rose to 55.3 in November from 54.1 in October, despite continued contraction in manufacturing, according to S&P Global's (SPGI) flash purchasing managers' index. The year-ahead outlook hit a 2.5-year high.

* US consumer sentiment increased in November, while year-ahead inflation expectations dropped to the lowest since December 2020, final results from the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers showed.

* January West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed up $1.14 to settle at $71.24 per barrel, while January Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $0.80 to $75.03 amid elevated tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

* Boeing ( BA ) jumped 4% after the plane maker on Thursday said it won a contract valued at $2.38 billion to build an additional 15 units of KC-46A Pegasus tankers for the US Air Force.

* Intuit (INTU) fell 5.4% after the financial technology platform issued a downbeat fiscal Q2 revenue outlook late Thursday.