U.S. market indexes ended higher on Friday with gains for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 21005.71 for a gain of 2.74 points or 0.01%. The S&P 500 closed at 2383.12 for a gain of 1.20 points or 0.05%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 5870.75 for a gain of 9.53 points or 0.16%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower for the day at 10.96 for a loss of -0.85 points or -7.20%.
For the week, the Dow Jones gained 0.86%. The S&P 500 gained 0.67% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.41%.
Friday’s Market Movers
A number of Federal Reserve officials gave speeches on Friday including: Charles Evans, Jeffrey Lacker, Jerome Powell, Stanley Fischer and Janet Yellen. US stocks gained as investors factored in a rate increase at the Federal Reserve’s March meeting following the Federal Reserve comments. Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The PMI Services Index decreased to 53.8 from 55.6.
- The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index increased to 57.5 from 56.5.
- The North American Baker Hughes rig count decreased to 1,091.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
Caterpillar (CAT, Financial) 0.81%
Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial) 0.73%
JPMorgan (JPM, Financial) 0.72%
In the broad market, financial stocks led gains. Technology was also higher with the S&P 500 technology sector gaining 0.23% on Friday.
Small-Cap Stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 Index closed at 1394.13 for a loss of -1.54 points or -0.11%. The S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 849.38 for a loss of -2.34 points or -0.27%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 8325.39 for a gain of 3.90 points or 0.05%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9810.28 for a loss of -5.91 points or -0.06%.
Other Notable Indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1739.50 for a gain of 1.07 points or 0.06%; the S&P 100 Index at 1056.84 for a gain of 0.72 points or 0.07%; the Russell 3000 Index at 1413.55 for a gain of 0.79 points or 0.06%; the Russell 1000 Index at 1321.61 for a gain of 0.92 points or 0.07%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 661.56 for a gain of 0.07 points or 0.01%.
