U.S. market indexes were lower on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 23,271.28 for a loss of -138.19 points or -0.59%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,564.62 for a loss of -14.25 points or -0.55%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 6,706.21 for a loss of -31.66 points or -0.47%. The VIX Volatility Index closed higher at 13.13 for a gain of 1.54 points or 13.29%.
Wednesday’s market movers
U.S. market indexes continued losses on Wednesday. Lower oil prices and uncertainty over pending tax reform were the main factors.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The Mortgage Bankers Association’s mortgage applications index increased 3.1% for the week.
- The Consumer Price Index increased 0.1% for the month and 2.0% for the year.
- Retail sales increased 0.2% for the month.
- Business inventories were unchanged from the previous month.
- The EIA petroleum status report showed an increase of 1.9 million barrels for the week.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led losses:
Caterpillar (CAT, Financial) -2.50%
Home Depot (HD, Financial) -1.54%
Wal-Mart (WMT, Financial) -1.38%
Apple (AAPL, Financial) -1.32%
In the broad market, energy and consumer staples led losses. Technology was also lower with the S&P 500 technology sector down -0.74%.
Small-cap stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,464.09 for a loss of -7.16 points or -0.49%. The S&P 600 closed at 889.94 for a loss of -4.80 points or -0.54%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 8,928.66 for a loss of -43.86 points or -0.49%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9,833.09 for a loss of -45.18 points or -0.46%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,818.05 for a loss of -8.75 points or -0.48%; the S&P 100 Index at 1,130.74 for a loss of -6.00 points or -0.53%; the Russell 3000 Index at 1,517.09 for a loss of -8.17 points or -0.54%; the Russell 1000 Index at 1,420.93 for a loss of -7.71 points or -0.54%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 677.16 for a loss of -5.63 points or -0.82%.
