US Indexes Post a Third Day of Gains on Thursday

S&P 500 up 6.24%

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Mar 27, 2020
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 22,552.17 on Thursday with a gain of 1,351.62 points or 6.38%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,630.07 for a gain of 154.51 points or 6.24%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,797.54 for a gain of 413.24 points or 5.60%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 61.00 for a loss of 2.95 points or -4.61%.

Thursday’s market movers

U.S. indexes reported a third straight day of gains Thursday with the Dow Jones up approximately 21% over three days. Stocks moved out of bear market territory with the day’s positive results.

Investors were optimistic on Congress’ stimulus package, which will provide checks for Americans. The $2 trillion stimulus package passed in the Senate and will move to the House of Representatives Friday.

On the economic calendar, investors were watching jobless claims and GDP. Jobless claims increased to 3.283 million from 282,000 in the previous week. The fourth quarter GDP was in line with expectations at 2.1%. In 2019, GDP increased 2.3% following an increase of 2.9% in 2018.

The number of confirmed Covid-19 infections continued to climb, reaching nearly 82,000 in the U.S. and 37,000 in New York. Fed Chairman

Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve would take all the steps necessary to help the financial markets.

Tuesday’s market news releases included the following:

  • The Treasury secretary said the U.S. would likely take a stake in airline companies.
  • GDP increased 2.1% in the fourth quarter and 2.3% for 2019.
  • Corporate profits increased 2.1% in the fourth quarter.
  • The goods trade balance showed a deficit of -$59.89 billion in February.
  • Weekly jobless claims increased to 3.283 million from 282,000. Continuing jobless claims increased to 1.803 million from 1.702 million.
  • Wholesale inventories decreased -0.5% in February.
  • Freddie Mac released its weekly mortgage market report. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.50%, down from 3.65%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.92%, down from 3.06%.
  • The Treasury held auctions for 4-week bills at a rate of 0.00%, 8-week bills at a rate of 0.00% and 7-year notes at a rate of 0.680%. The 10-year Treasury closed at a yield of 0.85%.

In the S&P 500, utilities, real estate and health care led gains. In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:

  • Boeing (BA, Financial) 16.29%
  • Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA, Financial) 10.21%
  • Chevron (CVX, Financial) 10.09%
  • UnitedHealth (UNH, Financial) gained 8.91% after announcing self-tests for the Coronavirus in Seattle and a donation of $50 million

Small-cap stocks

In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,180.32 for a gain of 69.95 points or 6.30%. The S&P 600 closed at 700.66 for a gain of 45.26 points or 6.91%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 7,855.39 for a gain of 415.73 points or 5.59%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 6,106.56 for a gain of 408.57 points or 7.17%.

Other notable indexes

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,471.53 for a gain of 82.67 points or 5.95%; the S&P 100 at 1,204.50 for a gain of 69.30 points or 6.10%; the Nasdaq 100 at 7,897.13 for a gain of 427.51 points or 5.72%; the Russell 3000 at 1,517.57 for a gain of 88.32 points or 6.18%; the Russell 1000 at 1,442.70 for a gain of 83.87 points or 6.17%; the Wilshire 5000 at 26,528.57 for a gain of 1,546.17 points or 6.19%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 539.25 for a gain of 35.65 points or 7.08%.

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