The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,870.10 on Wednesday with a gain of 227.51 points or 0.85%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,226.56 for a gain of 29.04 points or 0.91%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 10,550.49 for a gain of 61.91 points or 0.59%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 27.76 for a loss of 1.76 points or -5.96%.
Wednesday’s Market Movers
U.S. indexes closed higher Wednesday, marking a fourth day of gains for the Dow Jones. A Covid-19 potential vaccine and earnings from Goldman Sachs (GS) were top catalysts.
Earnings reported on Wednesday included:
- Goldman Sachs: Revenue of $13.3 billion beat the estimate by $3.54 billion and increased 40.6% year over year. Q2 GAAP EPS of $6.26 also beat the estimate of approximately $4.00.
- UnitedHealth (UNH): Revenue of $62.14 billion increased 2.5% year over year and missed estimates by $1.4 billion. Q2 GAAP EPS of $6.91 beat estimates by $1.73 and non-GAAP EPS of $7.12 beat estimates by $1.88.
- Alcoa (AA): Revenue of $2.15 billion decreased -20.7% year over year and beat estimates by $30 million. Q2 GAAP EPS of -$1.06 missed estimates by $0.19 and non-GAAP EPS of -$0.02 beat estimates by $0.21.
Economic reports on the calendar included the following:
- The MBA Mortgage Applications Index increased 5.1% following an increase of 2.2%. The MBA’s average 30-year mortgage rate decreased to 3.19% from 3.26%.
- Import and export prices were release. Export prices increased 1.4% in June and decreased -4.4% year over year. Import prices increased 1.4% in June and decreased -3.8% year over year.
- The New York Empire State Manufacturing Index improved to 17.2 in July from -0.2.
- The Fed’s production report showed industrial production increasing 5.4% in June and decreasing -10.8% year over year. Manufacturing production increased 7.2% in June and decreased -11.2% year over year. Capacity utilization increased to 68.6% from 65.1%.
- Crude oil inventory was down -7.4 million barrels, according the EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
- The Fed’s Beige Book showed an improvement in economic activity consistent with a slow start for a Covid-19 recovery.
Across sectors, industrials, biotech and energy led gains. In the S&P 100, the following stocks led gains:
- Simon Property Group (SPG, Financial) 8.46%
- Booking Holdings (BKNG, Financial) 6.08%
- Ford (F, Financial) 5.97%
- Capital One (COF, Financial) 5.01%
- General Motors (GM, Financial) 4.84%
- Wells Fargo (WFC, Financial) 4.47%
Small-Cap Stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,478.27 for a gain of 50.01 points or 3.50%. The S&P 600 closed at 853.10 for a gain of 30.11 points or 3.66%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 10,286.77 for a gain of 294.31 points or 2.95%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 7,015.69 for a gain of 277.06 points or 4.11%.
Other Notable Indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,836.30 for a gain of 53.66 points or 3.01%; the S&P 100 at 1,490.35 for a gain of 6.55 points or 0.44%; the Nasdaq 100 at 10,701.68 for a gain of 12.16 points or 0.11%; the Russell 3000 at 1,883.65 for a gain of 21.85 points or 1.17%; the Russell 1000 at 1,789.72 for a gain of 18.37 points or 1.04%; the Wilshire 5000 at 32,911.97 for a gain of 369.16 points or 1.13%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 592.43 for a gain of 12.16 points or 2.10%.
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