The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 23,515.26 on Thursday with a gain of 39.44 points or 0.17%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,797.80 for a loss of 1.51 points or -0.05%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 8,494.75 for a loss of 0.63 points or -0.01%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 41.06 for a loss of 0.92 points or -2.19%.
Thursday’s market movers
U.S. indexes were mostly flat on Thursday, with the Dow Jones reporting a small gain of 0.17%. Investors were concerned over the rising number of unemployment payouts. The Bureaus of Labor Statistics weekly report showed 4.427 million new claims.
Coronavirus cases in the U.S. increased to over 852,000. Cases in New York increased to nearly 264,000. The government continued to move forward with its nearly $500 billion stimulus package for small businesses and hospitals.
In the S&P 500, energy led gains for the day with a return of 3.29%. Oil prices continued to regain some ground with West Texas Intermediate crude oil selling at approximately $17 per barrel.
On the earnings calendar, Intel, Eli Lilly, Blackstone Group, Hershey, Domino's Pizza, Capital One Financial and Union Pacific reported.
- Intel (INTC): Reported revenue of $19.83 billion, increasing 23.2% year over year and beating estimates by $1.17 billion. First-quarter GAAP earnings of $1.31 per share beat estimates by 11 cents and non-GAAP earnings of $1.45 beat estimates by 18 cents.
- Domino's Pizza (DPZ): Revenue of $873.1 million increased 4.4% year over year and beat estimates by $3.44 million. First-quarter GAAP earnings of $3.07 per share beat estimates by 72 cents.
- Union Pacific (UNP, Financial): Revenue of $5.23 billion decreased 2.8% year over year and beat estimates by $150 million. First-quarter GAAP earnings of $2.15 beat estimates by 26 cents.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- Around 4.427 million people filed unemployment claims, down from 5.237 million in the previous week. Continuing jobless claims increased to 15.976 million from 11.912 million.
- The Markit Composite PMI decreased to 27.4 in April from 40.9. Separately, the Markit Manufacturing PMI decreased to 36.9 from 48.5 and the Markit Services PMI decreased to 27.0 from 39.8.
- New home sales decreased 15.4% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.627 million.
- The Kansas Fed Manufacturing Index fell to -62 in April from -18.
- The Treasury held auctions for four-week bills at a rate of 0.09%, eight-week bills at a rate of 0.12% and Five-Year TIPS at a rate of -0.320%. The 10-year Treasury yield ended at 0.598%.
- Freddie Mac released its weekly mortgage market survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.33%, up from 3.31%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.86%, up from 2.80%.
In the S&P 100, the following stocks led gains and losses:
- Halliburton (HAL, Financial) +9.11%
- Schlumberger (SLB, Financial) +8.31%
- Occidental Petroleum (OXY, Financial) +6.91%
- ConocoPhillips (COP, Financial) +4.20%
- Union Pacific (UNP, Financial) +3.96%
- Raytheon (RTN, Financial) -4.47%
- Gilead (GILD, Financial) -4.42%
- Starbucks (SBUX, Financial) -2.87%
- McDonald's (MCD, Financial) -2.27%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,214.06 for a gain of 12.54 points or 1.04%. The S&P 600 closed at 707.49 for a gain of 8.75 points or 1.25%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 8,261.21 for a gain of 76.61 points or 0.94%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 5,960.10 for a gain of 73.64 points or 1.25%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,529.01 for a gain of 16.15 points or 1.07%; the S&P 100 at 1,288.64 for a gain of 0.26 points or 0.02%; the Nasdaq 100 at 8,641.50 for a loss of 23.14 points or -0.27%; the Russell 3000 at 1,611.46 for a gain of 0.93 points or 0.057%; the Russell 1000 at 1,534.93 for a loss of 0.011 points or -0.01%; the Wilshire 5000 at 28,183.37 for a gain of 14.15 points or 0.05%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 551.27 for a loss of 1.29 points or -0.23%.
Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Sign up for a free 7-day trial here.
