The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 29,219.98 on Thursday with a loss of 128.05 points or -0.44%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,373.23 for a loss of 12.92 points or -0.38%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 9,750.96 for a loss of 66.21 points or -0.67%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 15.36 for a gain of 0.98 points or 6.82%.
Thursday’s market movers
U.S. indexes resisted new highs as investors considered several key uncertainties. Yesterday’s news of stimulus for Chinese businesses to help support coronavirus affects was counteracted with the first death from the virus in South Korea. Reports also showed the infection count in South Korea doubling over the past day to 104.
Risk appetite also waned after a morning CNBC interview with Federal Reserve official Richard Clarida, which presented a slightly more hawkish view than expectations. Clarida suggested that the federal funds rate may have hit a floor, but many investors are pricing in at least one more reduction in the next 12 months.
On the earnings calendar, Domino's Pizza (DPZ, Financial) led gains with a 24.80% increase after earnings of $3.13 per share beat estimates by 20 cents. Other earnings reports for the day included Dropbox (DBX, Financial), Fitbit (FIT, Financial), First Solar (FSLR, Financial), Hormel Foods (HRL, Financial), Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH), Southern Co. (SO) and ViacomCBS (VIACA).
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- Initial jobless claims increased to 210,000 from 206,000 in the previous week. Continuing jobless claims increased to 1,726,000 from 1,701,000.
- The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Indicators Index increased 0.8% in January following a decrease of 0.3%.
- The Treasury held auctions for four-week bills at a rate of 1.575% and eight-week bills at a rate of 1.570%.
- Mortgage rates were slightly higher according to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage market survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.49%, up from 3.47%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.99%, up from 2.97%.
In the S&P 500, technology and health care led losses. Financials were mostly flat for the day after Morgan Stanley (MS) announced it would be acquiring E*Trade (ETFC). In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led losses for the day:
- Intel (INTC, Financial) -2.51%
- Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial) -2.03%
- Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) -1.51%
- UnitedHealth (UNH, Financial) -1.43%
- Apple (AAPL, Financial) -0.93%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,695.70 for a gain of 3.12 points or 0.18%. The S&P 600 closed at 1,020.96 for a gain of 4.65 points or 0.46%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 11,029.01 for a gain of 9.27 points or 0.08%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 9,802.94 for a gain of 79.22 points or 0.81%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,106.11 for a gain of 7.54 points or 0.36%; the S&P 100 at 1,511.22 for a loss of 7.72 points or -0.51%; the Nasdaq 100 at 9,627.83 for a loss of 90.90 points or -0.94%; the Russell 3000 at 1,978.50 for a loss of 5.76 points or -0.29%; the Russell 1000 at 1,869.17 for a loss of 6.07 points or -0.32%; the Wilshire 5000 at 34,546.06 for a loss of 102.76 points or -0.30%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 756.02 for a gain of 1.71 points or 0.23%.
Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Sign up for a free 7-day trial here.
