U.S. market indexes were higher on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 24,211.48 for a gain of 70.57 points or 0.29%. The S&P 500 Index closed at 2,636.98 for a gain of 7.71 points or 0.29%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 6,812.84 for a gain of 36.47 points or 0.54%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 10.16 for a loss of -0.86 points or -7.80%.
Thursday’s market movers
Stocks finished higher Thursday after the House of Representatives passed a bill to avoid government shutdown.
Economic reports affecting trading included the following:
- Jobless claims decreased by 2,000 to 236,000.
- Consumer credit increased by $20.5 billion in October.
- Mortgage rates were higher according to the Freddie Mac weekly mortgage market survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average increased to 3.94% from 3.90%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage average increased to 3.36% from 3.30%.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
Caterpillar (CAT, Financial) 1.82%
Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial) 1.06%
United Technologies (UTX, Financial) 0.99%
In the broad market, industrials and materials stocks led gains. Technology was higher with the S&P 500 technology sector up 0.62%.
Small-cap stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,520.47 for a gain of 11.59 points or 0.77%. The S&P 600 Index closed at 928.53 with a gain of 5.19 points or 0.56%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 9,281.04 for a gain of 94.82 points or 1.03%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 10,206.52 for a gain of 38.37 points or 0.38%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,883.50 for a gain of 12.40 points or 0.66%; the S&P 100 Index at 1,164.60 for a gain of 2.09 points or 0.18%; the Russell 3000 Index at 1,561.34 for a gain of 5.83 points or 0.37%; the Russell 1000 Index at 1,461.30 for a gain of 5.00 points or 0.34%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 701.41 for a gain of 2.31 points or 0.33%.
