Dow Jones Closes at New High of 21532.14

U.S. market indexes were higher on Wednesday. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a new high of 21532.14, with a gain of 123.07 points or 0.57%. The S&P 500 closed at 2443.25 for a gain of 17.72 points or 0.73%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 6261.17 for a gain of 67.87 points or 1.10%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower for the day at 10.27 for a loss of -0.62 points or -5.69%.

Wednesday’s market movers

Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:

• The Mortgage Bankers Association’s mortgage applications index decreased -7.4% for the week.
• Janet Yellen spoke before Congress. Yellen had a positive outlook for the economy and said the Federal Reserve would gradually increase the federal funds rate over the next few years.
• The EIA Petroleum Status report showed a decrease in oil inventory of -7.6 million barrels for the week.
• The Beige Book was released, reporting economic growth as slight-to-moderate.

In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:

DuPont (DD, Financial) 2.71%

Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) 1.66%

Home Depot (HD, Financial) 1.35%

McDonald's (MCD, Financial) 1.09%

Intel (INTC, Financial) 0.99%

3M (MMM, Financial) 0.84%

General Electric (GE, Financial) 0.83%

Visa (V, Financial) 0.83%

Verizon (VZ, Financial) 0.79%

American Express (AXP, Financial) 0.75%

In the broad market, technology stocks led gains. The S&P 500 technology sector gained 1.31%.

Small-cap stocks

In small-caps, the Russell 2000 Index closed at 1424.32 for a gain of 11.27 points or 0.80%. The S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 857.94 for a gain of 6.59 points or 0.77%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 8627.99 for a gain of 71.56 points or 0.84%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9582.01 for a gain of 65.66 points or 0.69%.

Other notable indexes

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1757.34 for a gain of 11.99 points or 0.69%; the S&P 100 Index at 1075.97 for a gain of 7.16 points or 0.67%; the Russell 3000 Index at 1447.81 for a gain of 10.57 points or 0.74%; the Russell 1000 Index at 1353.93 for a gain of 9.81 points or 0.73%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 656.30 for a gain of 2.76 points or 0.42%.