U.S. market indexes gained on Thursday. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18903.82 for a gain of 35.68 points or 0.19%. The S&P 500 closed at 2187.12 for a gain of 10.18 points or 0.47%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 5333.97 for a gain of 39.39 points or 0.74%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 13.35 for a loss of -0.37 points or -2.70%.
Thursday’s market movers
Stocks were higher Thursday with a positive outlook for the economy. Economic reports affecting the day’s trading included the Consumer Price Index, Housing Starts, Jobless Claims and E-Commerce Retail Sales.
- The Consumer Price Index increased 0.4% for the month and 1.6% for the year.
- Housing starts increased to 1.323 million SAAR from 1.054 million SAAR.
- Jobless claims decreased by 19,000 to 235,000.
- E-commerce retail sales increased to 4.0% on a quarterly seasonally adjusted average basis. E-commerce retail sales were down from 4.5% and below consensus of 4.7%.
In other economic news, Janet Yellen testified before Congress and said a rate increase was likely “relatively soon.” The probability of a rate increase in June increased, which also helped the outlook for the fourth quarter.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
Home Depot (HD, Financial) 2.87%
Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) 1.66%
In the broad market, financial and consumer discretionary stocks led gains. Technology was also higher. The S&P technology sector increased 0.64% for the day.
Small-cap stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1309.48 for a gain of 7.28 points or 0.56%. The S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 799.43 for a gain of 3.75 points or 0.47%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 7811.60 for a gain of 47.57 points or 0.61%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9170.84 for a gain of 33.98 points or 0.37%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1605.24 for a gain of 9.71 points or 0.61%; the S&P 100 Index at 965.62 for a gain of 4.23 points or 0.44%; the Russell 3000 Index at 1300.42 for a gain of 6.47 points or 0.50%; the Russell 1000 Index at 1213.72 for a gain of 5.98 points or 0.50%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 616.02 for a gain of 1.41 points or 0.23%.
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