U.S. market indexes were mostly lower Wednesday with gains from technology. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 21410.03 for a loss of -57.11 points or -0.27%. The S&P 500 closed at 2435.61 for a loss of -1.42 points or -0.06%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 6233.95 for a gain of 45.92 points or 0.74%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower for the day at 10.75 for a loss of -0.11 points or -1.01%.
Wednesday’s market movers
Lower oil prices continued to be a leading factor for market losses. Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The Mortgage Bankers Association’s mortgage applications index increased 0.6% for the week.
- Existing home sales increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.62 million.
- The EIA Petroleum Status report showed a decrease of -2.5 million barrels of inventory for the week. Oil prices continued to decrease with WTI crude down -2.25% to $42.53 and Brent crude down -2.67% to $44.79.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led losses:
Caterpillar (CAT, Financial) -3.34%
Chevron (CVX, Financial) -1.87%
General Electric (GE, Financial) -1.17%
Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial) -1.16%
ExxonMobil (XOM, Financial) -1.06%
In the broad market, energy stocks led losses. Technology stocks in the S&P 500 were higher with the S&P 500 technology sector gaining 0.56%.
Small-cap stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 Index closed at 1399.25 for a loss of -3.71 points or -0.26%. The S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 842.23 for a loss of -4.51 points or -0.53%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 8470.81 for a loss of -0.80 points or -0.01%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9426.11 for a loss of -86.67 points or -0.91%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1734.91 for a loss of -10.50 points or -0.60%; the S&P 100 Index at 1074.44 for a loss of -0.25 points or -0.02%; the Russell 3000 Index at 1440.99 for a loss of -1.34 points or -0.09%; the Russell 1000 Index at 1348.99 for a loss of -1.07 points or -0.08%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 662.40 for a loss of -5.07 points or -0.76%.
