The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 28,868.80 on Thursday with a gain of 330.36 points or 1.16%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,257.85 for a gain of 27.07 points or 0.84%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 9,092.19 for a gain of 119.58 points or 1.33%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 12.42 for a loss of 1.36 points or -9.87%.
Thursday’s market movers
The major U.S. indexes gained to close at new highs on the first trading day of 2020. News from China helped to support the rally. China announced it would reduce reserve requirements for banks. Investors were also optimistic over the signing of a phase one trade deal on Jan. 15, with further negotations for phase two also being discussed.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- Jobless claims decreased to 222,000, down from 224,000 in the previous week.
- The Markit Manufacturing PMI decreased to 52.4 in December from 52.6.
- The Treasury held auctions for four-week bills at a rate of 1.500% and eight-week bills at a rate of 1.515%.
- Mortgage rates were down slightly according to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage market survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.72%, down from 3.74%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.16%, down from 3.19%.
In the S&P 500, industrials and technology led gains. In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,666.77 for a loss of 1.70 points or -0.10%. The S&P 600 closed at 1,020.83 for a loss of 0.35 points or -0.034%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 10,685.73 for a gain of 13.01 points or 0.12%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 9,919.02 for a loss of 34.77 points or -0.35%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,065.19 for a gain of 2.17 points or 0.11%; the S&P 100 at 1,458.13 for a gain of 15.96 points or 1.11%; the Nasdaq 100 at 8,872.22 for a gain of 139.15 points or 1.59%; the Russell 3000 at 1,906.50 for a gain of 14.26 points or 0.75%; the Russell 1000 at 1,798.72 for a gain of 14.52 points or 0.81%; the Wilshire 5000 at 33,261.26 for a gain of 255.88 points or 0.78%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 753.03 for a loss of 2.49 points or -0.33%.
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