The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 25,745.67 on Wednesday with a loss of 141.71 points or -0.55%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,824.23 for a loss of 8.34 points or -0.29%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,728.97 for a gain of 5.02 points or 0.06%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 13.94 for a gain of 0.38 points or 2.80%.
Wednesday’s market movers
The Dow Jones and S&P 500 closed lower for a second day as investors continued to watch market risks. The Federal Reserve announced it would keep the federal funds rate unchanged after its two-day policy meeting, also suggesting no further rate increases for the remainder of the year. In regard to its balance sheet, the Fed said it would slow its decreases of the asset portfolio and end runoff of Treasury holdings in September, according to the Wall Street Journal. Regarding the economy, the meeting's projections show a decrease in the expectation for gross domestic product, which is consistent with data globally. The Fed's more conservative outlook and lower economic growth expectations solidified some concerns over a potentially weakening economy, which was a final detractor for the day.
In the S&P 500, the financial sector led losses after the Fed's more dovish outlook on rates. In Treasuries, the yield curve flattened with price increases on the short and long end. The one-month Treasury yield fell to 2.455% and the 30-year bond yield fell to 2.970%.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The MBA Mortgage Applications Index increased 1.6% and the MBA’s 30-year mortgage rate average was 4.55%.
- The Fed kept the federal funds rate unchanged at a rate of 2.25% to 2.5%.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led losses:
- Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial) -3.38%
- UnitedHealth (UNH, Financial) -2.58%
- JPMorgan (JPM, Financial) -2.13%
- American Express (AXP, Financial) -1.69%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,543.16 for a loss of 11.83 points or -0.76%. The S&P 600 closed at 940.28 for a loss of 7.28 points or -0.77%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 9,788.54 for a loss of 72.98 points or -0.74%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9,395.27 for a loss of 98.89 points or -1.04%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,883.32 for a loss of 15.83 points or -0.83%; the S&P 100 at 1,251.26 for a loss of -1.31 points or -0.10%; the Russell 3000 at 1665.25 for a loss of 5.93 points or -0.35%; the Russell 1000 at 1,564.44 for a loss of 5.08 points or -0.32%; the Wilshire 5000 at 29,200.54 for a loss of 97.01 points or -0.33%; and the Dow Jones US Select Dividend Index at 697.19 for a loss of 5.39 points or -0.77%.
