The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,815.44 on Thursday with a gain of 52.31 points or 0.20%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,246.59 for a gain of 9.67 points or 0.30%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 10,672.27 for a gain of 39.28 points or 0.37%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 28.51 for a loss of 0.070 points or -0.24%.
Thursday's market movers
U.S. indexes rebounded from Wednesday's closing losses to finish just slightly higher for the day. Gains were led by utilities and semiconductors. The Nasdaq Biotech Index was down 1.05%. The White House said it may overrule potentially stricter Covid-19 vaccine standards. Bloomberg reported there are six top Covid-19 vaccines, which are all progressing for increased production. Overall, investors were still cautious of economic challenges with Jerome Powell on Capitol Hill for a third day, suggesting the economy needs more government stimulus.
Other news highlights for the day included:
- Amazon (AMZN, Financial) gained 0.66% on its hardware event, which included many new releases, including a new Amazon Echo.
- A judge said the TikTok ban should be halted and aligned with decisions on the company's buy-ins from U.S. investors.
- Around 870,000 Americans filed for jobless claims, up from 866,000. Continuing jobless claims decreased to 12.580 million from 12.747 million.
- Powell and the Treasury secretary were on Capitol Hill speaking before Congress.
- New home sales increased 4.8% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.011 million.
- The Kansas Fed Manufacturing Index decreased to 18 in September from 23.
- The Treasury held auctions for four-week bills at a rate of 0.075%, eight-week bills at a rate of 0.090% and seven-year notes at a rate of 0.462%.
- Chicago Jewel-Osco's are offering at home Coronavirus tests from Osco pharmacies at around $140 each.
- Alexandria Advantage Warranty (AAWC, Financial) gained 33.84%, leading gains across the board.
- Darden Restaurants (DRI, Financial) 8.12%, Illumina (ILMN, Financial) 4.88% and Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial) 4.83% were the top three gainers in the S&P 500.
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,451.82 for a gain of 0.36 points or 0.025%. The S&P 600 closed at 826.80 for a gain of 4.17 points or 0.51%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 10,277.25 for a loss of 38.82 points or -0.38%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 6,586.11 for a gain of 26.28 points or 0.40%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,792.31 for a gain of 0.22 points or 0.012%; the S&P 100 at 1,504.50 for a gain of 4.81 points or 0.32%; the Nasdaq 100 at 10,896.47 for a gain of 63.14 points or 0.58%; the Russell 3000 at 1,897.84 for a gain of 4.16 points or 0.22%; the Russell 1000 at 1,806.00 for a gain of 4.16 points or 0.23%; the Wilshire 5000 at 33,142.86 for a gain of 100.62 points or 0.30%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 570.21 for a gain of 2.48 points or 0.44%.
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