The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 29,100.50 on Wednesday with a gain of 454.84 points or 1.59%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,580.84 for a gain of 54.19 points or 1.54%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 12,056.44 for a gain of 116.78 points or 0.98%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 26.57 for a gain of 0.45 points or 1.72%.
Wednesday's market movers
U.S. indexes climbed higher Wednesday with several contributors. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both posted new record closing highs.
The Trump administration instilled a national eviction moratorium. The Federal Reserve's Beige Book showed economic expansion comprehensively in August, but several pockets of slower growth consistent with an uneven spread of coronavirus trouble areas. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a rise in government debt, which is estimated to match U.S. gross domestic product in 2021. Reports are suggesting a coronavirus vaccine could be available in October or November.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The MBA Mortgage Applications Index decreased 2% following a decrease of 6.5%. The MBA's average 30-year mortgage rate decreased to 3.08% from 3.11%.
- The ADP private sector employment report showed an increase of 428,000 private sector payrolls in August, below the estimate of 1.0 million.
- The ISM New York Index decreased to 42.9 in August from 53.5.
- Factory orders increased 6.4% in July. Factory orders excluding transportation increased 2.1%
- Crude oil inventory was down 10.7 million barrels, according to the EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
- The Fed's Beige Book showed economic expansion in August.
- Total vehicle sales increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 15.2 million in August, up from 14.6 million.
Across sectors, utilities and semiconductors led gains. Across the board, the following stocks led gains:
- Victory Square Technologies (VSQTF, Financial) +58.98%
- Corcept (CORT, Financial) +58.45%
- Caleres (CAL, Financial) +18.40%
- Athenex (ATNX, Financial) +13.73%
- DXC Technology (DXC, Financial) +11.63%
- Twitter (TWTR, Financial) +6.10%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,592.29 for a gain of 13.71 points or 0.87%. The S&P 600 closed at 920.20 for a gain of 10.86 points or 1.19%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 11,210.49 for a gain of 91.83 points or 0.83%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 7,355.57 for a gain of 70.39 points or 0.97%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,966.45 for a gain of 25.42 points or 1.31%; the S&P 100 at 1,675.67 for a gain of 22.00 points or 1.33%; the Nasdaq 100 at 12,420.54 for a gain of 127.68 points or 1.04%; the Russell 3000 at 2,089.83 for a gain of 27.38 points or 1.33%; the Russell 1000 at 1,989.08 for a gain of 26.58 points or 1.35%; the Wilshire 5000 at 36,520.55 for a gain of 487.66 points or 1.35%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 613.53 for a gain of 12.21 points or 2.03%.
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