U.S. market indexes were higher on Thursday. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18392.46 for a gain of 98.76 points, or 0.54%. The S&P 500 was also higher, closing at 2177.18 for a gain of 14.06 points, or 0.65%. The Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 5339.52 for a gain of 44.34 points, or 0.84%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 12.06 for a loss of 1.24 points, or -9.32%.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
Procter & Gamble (PG, Financial) 1.36%
Walt Disney (DIS, Financial) 1.10%
United Technologies (UTX, Financial) 1.02%
Coca-Cola (KO, Financial) 1.01%
The economic calendar on Thursday included the Conference Board’s Leading Indicators, Jobless Claims, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index, the FHFA House Price Index and Existing Home Sales. The Conference Board’s Leading Indicators report was down -0.2%, below consensus of 0.1% and also below last month’s gain of 0.5%. Jobless claims decreased by 8,000 for the week to 252,000. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index was down from the previous month’s 0.24 at -0.55, also below consensus of 0.15. The FHFA House Price Index gained 0.5% following an increase of 0.3% in the previous month. The report was also above consensus of 0.4%. Existing home sales were down from the previous month at 5.33 million SAAR, a decrease of -0.9%. Existing home sales were expected to increase to 5.44 million SAAR.
Stocks gained Thursday after investors were happy with the Federal Open Market Committee’s decision to keep the federal funds rate unchanged. No change in monetary policy from the Bank of Japan also helped stocks to gain as global markets were stable and yields remained neutral.
With a Fed rate increase likely delayed until December, investors are hoping for continued gains in the stock market. A CNBC report Wednesday discussed some of the market’s leading stocks and funds for bullish investors.
Disclosure: I do not own any stocks included in this article.
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