U.S. market indexes finished the first trading day of May higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 17,891.16 for a gain of 117.52 points or 0.66%. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed at 2,081.43 for a gain of 16.13 points or 0.78%. Market indexes recovered some of their losses from last week after market valuations descended following no change from the Bank of Japan on interest rates, broadly lower earnings results and a gross domestic product report for the U.S. that showed a first-quarter growth rate of 0.5%.
Regaining some of its previous week losses the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw leading gains from Home Depot (HD, Financial), Visa (V, Financial) and Microsoft (MSFT, Financial). Home Depot was up 1.55% Monday followed by Visa, which gained 1.51%. Microsoft also gained 1.48%. In the broader market the consumer discretionary, financial services and consumer staples sectors led the market higher.
The annual shareholders meeting at Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) over the weekend was also likely a factor in the day’s positive trading. For the year Berkshire Hathaway reported net earnings of $24.08 billion. Earnings were $4.21 billion higher than 2014. For the first quarter of 2016, Berkshire Hathaway reported preliminary net earnings of $5.59 billion, a gain of $425 million from the comparable quarter.
In a question-and-answer session Saturday, Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) and Charlie Munger (Trades, Portfolio) gave their investment insight on a wide range of the company’s holdings, with emphasis on Coca-Cola (KO, Financial), Precision Castparts (PCP, Financial) and Amazon (AMZN, Financial). Buffett and Munger also discussed the current hedge fund landscape.
In a CNBC interview Monday, Buffett further discussed Berkshire Hathaway’s investment philosophy and some of the company’s largest portfolio holdings.
Economic indicators were also on watch Monday after concerns on the low first quarter gross domestic product report for the U.S. The day’s economic indicators showed further challenges in the economy supporting the first quarter’s slow growth rate. The PMI Manufacturing Index reported flat output in the manufacturing sector with an April index reading below consensus at 50.8. The ISM Manufacturing Index also showed weak output. The index report for April was 50.8 versus consensus of 51.5. Construction spending was also reported Monday with weak results. Construction spending increased 0.3% in March versus an expectation of 0.5%.
Despite the results, U.S. indexes gained broadly Monday. Other notable index closings included the small-cap Russell 2000 at 1,139.99 for a gain of 9.15 points or 0.81% and the small-cap S&P 600, closing at 699.72 for a gain of 5.16 points or 0.74%. The S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closed at 1,473.23 for a gain of 11.58 points or 0.79%. The Russell 3000 closed at 1,226.81 for a gain of 9.45 points or 0.78% and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closed at 591.17 for a gain of 3.07 points or 0.52%.
