The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 29,030.22 on Wednesday with a gain of 90.55 points or 0.31%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,289.29 for a gain of 6.14 points or 0.19%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 9,258.70 for a gain of 7.37 points or 0.08%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 12.42 for a gain of 0.03 points or 0.24%.
Wednesday’s market movers
U.S. indexes closed higher Wednesday with the Dow Jones closing above 29,000 for the first time. A signed “phase one” China trade deal helped boost investors’ confidence. Key provisions of the deal included increased imports by China, better oversight on intellectual property and increased access to the Chinese business market. The deal leaves current tariffs for China in place.
Investors were also watching bank earnings and United Health with the following reported results:
- UnitedHealth (UNH, Financial): Revenue of $60.9 billion increased 4.2% year over year and missed estimates by $270 million. Q4 GAAP EPS of $3.68 beat estimates by $0.10 and non-GAAP EPS of $3.90 beat estimates by $0.12.
- Bank of America (BAC, Financial): Revenue of $22.35 billion decreased -1.7% year over year and beat estimates by $50 million. Q4 GAAP EPS of $0.74 beat estimates by $0.06.
- Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial): Revenue of $9.96 billion increased 23.3% year over year and beat estimates by $1.4 billion. Q4 GAAP EPS of $4.69 missed estimates by $0.42.
In other news:
- The House passed the Trump impeachment case onto the Senate, which expects a trial to begin next Tuesday.
- The MBA Mortgage Applications Index increased 30.2% following an increase of 13.5%. The MBA’s average 30-year mortgage rate decreased to 3.87% from 3.91%.
- The Producer Price Index increased 0.1% in December. Year over year, the Producer Price Index increased 1.3%, up from 1.1%.
- The Core Producer Price Index excluding food and energy increased 0.1%. Year over year the Core Producer Price Index increased 1.1%, down from 1.3%.
- The EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report showed a decrease of -2.549 million barrels in oil inventory.
- The Fed’s Beige Book showed “modest expansion” in the economy with a healthy holiday season and “modestly favorable” expectations for the near term.
In the S&P 500, utilities, healthcare and consumer staples led gains. In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
- UnitedHealth (UNH, Financial) 2.83%
- Visa (V, Financial) 1.91%
- Merck (MRK, Financial) 1.79%
- Pfizer (PFE, Financial) 1.50%
- Coca-Cola (KO, Financial) 1.25%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,682.40 for a gain of 6.66 points or 0.40 points. The S&P 600 closed at 1,027.61 for a gain of 3.93 points or 0.38%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 10,836.77 for a gain of 36.41 points or 0.34%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 9,908.37 for a gain of 10.69 points or 0.11%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,076.10 for a gain of 3.11 points or 0.15%; the S&P 100 at 1,472.23 for a gain of 2.71 points or 0.18%; the Nasdaq 100 at 9,035.67 for a gain of 2.25 points or 0.025%; the Russell 3000 at 1,927.33 for a gain of 3.70 points or 0.19%; the Russell 1000 at 1,818.56 for a gain of 3.23 points or 0.18%; the Wilshire 5000 at 33,629.96 for a gain of 63.71 points or 0.19%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 756.83 for a gain of 0.44 points or 0.058%.
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