The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 28,859.44 on Thursday with a gain of 124.99 points or 0.43%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,283.66 for a gain of 10.26 points or 0.31%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 9,298.93 for a gain of 23.77 points or 0.26%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 15.49 for a loss of 0.90 points or -5.49%.
Thursday’s market movers
The major U.S. indexes closed with gains Thursday. Investors were concerned over China’s coronavirus, but a stable gross domestic product report helped lift valuations through the end of the day. GDP increased 2.1% in the fourth quarter and 2.3% for 2019.
The World Health Organization released a statement announcing the coronavirus as a global public emergency. Treasury yields were slightly higher on the longer end of the yield curve, rallying from lows as investors have been watching some yield curve inversion. In the U.K., the country is on track for a European Union departure tomorrow, on the last day of January.
On the earnings calendar:
- DuPont (DD, Financial): Revenue of $5.2 billion decreased 4.8% year over year and missed estimates by $40 million. Fourth-quarter GAAP earnings of 24 cents per share missed estimates by 52 cents and non-GAAP earnings of 95 cents were in line with estimates.
- Coca-Cola (KO, Financial): Revenue of $9.1 billion increased 16% year over year and beat estimates by $220 million. Fourth-quarter GAAP earnings of 47 cents per share beat estimates by 3 cents and non-GAAP earnings of 44 cents per share were in line with estimates.
- Verizon (VZ, Financial): Revenue of $34.78 billion increased 1.5% year over year and beat estimates by $160 million. Fourth-quarter GAAP earnings of $1.23 per share beat estimates by 9 cents and non-GAAP earnings of $1.13 missed estimates by 2 cents.
- Amazon (AMZN, Financial): Revenue of $87.44 billion increased 20.8% year over year and beat estimates by $1.35 billion. Fourth-quarter GAAP earnings of $6.47 per share beat estimates by $2.51.
- Visa (V, Financial): Revenue of $6.1 billion increased 10.9% year over year and beat estimates by $20 million. First-quarter GAAP earnings of $1.46 per share were in line with estimates and non-GAAP earnings of $1.46 missed estimates by 1 cent.
- Magellan Midstream Partners (MMP, Financial): Revenue of $740.68 million decreased 14.4% year over year and missed estimates by $99.89 million. Fourth-quarter GAAP earnings of $1.25 per share beat estimates by 7 cents and non-GAAP earnings of $1.31 beat estimates by 15 cents.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- GDP increased 2.1% in the fourth quarter, consistent with the previous quarter’s gain and also in line with the estimate. For the year, GDP was up 2.3% in 2019 versus 2.9% in 2018.
- Jobless claims were 216,000 for the week, down from 223,000. Continuing jobless claims decreased to 1,703,000 from 1,747,000.
- The Treasury held auctions for four-week bills at a rate of 1.545% and eight-week bills at a rate of 1.55%.
In the S&P 500, financials and consumer staples led gains. In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
- Coca-Cola (KO, Financial) 3.20%
- Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) 2.86%
- Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial) 1.64%
- Visa (V, Financial) 1.45%
- JPMorgan (JPM, Financial) 1.27%
- American Express (AXP, Financial) 1.15%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,648.22 for a loss of 1.00 point or -0.061%. The S&P 600 closed at 1,003.03 for a loss of 1.39 points or -0.14%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 10,661.32 for a loss of 4.90 points or -0.05%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 9,623.95 for a gain of 9.19 points or 0.10%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,047.92 for a gain of 1.26 points or 0.062%; the S&P 100 at 1,471.24 for a gain of 4.54 points or 0.31%; the Nasdaq 100 at 9,136.09 for a gain of 34.47 points or 0.38%; the Russell 3000 at 1,922.25 for a gain of 5.72 points or 0.30%; the Russell 1000 at 1,816.00 for a gain of 5.85 points or 0.32%; the Wilshire 5000 at 33,556.48 for a gain of 105.01 points or 0.31%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 752.29 for a gain of 1.54 points or 0.21%.
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