U.S. market indexes were mixed on Wednesday. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18144.20 for a gain of 15.54 points, or 0.09%. The S&P 500 was also higher, closing at 2139.17 for a gain of 2.44 points, or 0.11%. The Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 5239.02 for a loss of -7.77 points, or -0.15%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 15.64 for a gain of 0.28 points, or 1.82%.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
The Travelers Companies Inc. (TRV, Financial) 1.18%
McDonald's (MCD, Financial) 0.91%
Procter & Gamble (PG, Financial) 0.03%
Stocks gained as investors saw few surprises in the Federal Open Market Committee minutes. The Fed minutes from the September meeting showed Fed officials ready to raise rates relatively soon. Other leading reports on the economic calendar for Wednesday included the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Mortgage Applications and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Mortgage applications decreased 6% from the previous week and refinancings decreased 8%. The JOLTS report showed a decrease in job openings to 5.443 million in August, which was down from 5.831 million in July.
With little affect from the FOMC minutes on Wednesday, investors have begun to focus more on third quarter earnings. In a CNBC report Wednesday, Leigh Drogen of Estimize gave his perspective on earnings to watch from the third quarter.
Disclosure: I do not own any stocks included in this article.
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