The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 27,816.90 on Thursday with a gain of 35.20 points or 0.13%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,380.80 for a gain of 17.80 points or 0.53%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 11,326.51 for a gain of 159.00 points or 1.42%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 26.70 for a gain of 0.33 points or 1.25%.
Thursday's Market Movers
U.S. indexes closed higher for a second day and reported a positive start to October. Personal income was down -2.7% in August, causing some economic alarm. Earlier in the week, ADP's private payrolls report beat economists' expectations.
Across sectors, semiconductors and real estate led gains for the day. In the S&P 500, the following stocks led gains:
Other stock highlights for the day included the following:
- Google (GOOG, Financial) (GOOGL, Financial) held a hardware event featuring the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a.
- The Senate will require the CEOs of Facebook (FB, Financial), Google and Twitter (TWTR, Financial) to speak before Congress about third-party content.
- Across the board, AMAG Pharmaceuticals (AMAG, Financial) led gains with a return of 45.21% and Bed Bath and Beyond (BBBY, Financial) gained 25.13%.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- Personal income decreased -2.7% in August, following an increase of 0.5%. Personal spending increased 1% following an increase of 1.5%.
- The PCE Price Index increased 0.3% in August and 1.4% year over year. The Core PCE Price Index excluding food and energy increased 0.3% in August and 1.6% year over year.
- 837,000 Americans filed for jobless claims, down from 873,000 in the previous week. Continuing jobless claims were 11.767 million, down from 12.747 million.
- The Markit Manufacturing PMI increased to 53.2 in September from 53.1.
- The ISM Manufacturing PMI decreased to 55.4 in September from 56.
- Construction spending increased 1.4% in August, following an increase of 0.7%.
- The Treasury held auctions for four-week bills at a rate of 0.085% and eight-week bills at a rate of 0.085%.
- Freddie Mac released its weekly mortgage market survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.88%, down from 2.90%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.36%, down from 2.40%.
Small-Cap Stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,531.20 for a gain of 23.51 points or 1.56%. The S&P 600 closed at 867.47 for a gain of 12.20 points or 1.43%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 10,861.17 for a gain of 181.10 points or 1.70%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 6,875.03 for a gain of 82.02 points or 1.21%.
Other Notable Indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,884.94 for a gain of 23.65 points or 1.27%; the S&P 100 at 1,569.88 for a gain of 9.30 points or 0.60%; the Nasdaq 100 at 11,583.20 for a gain of 165.14 points or 1.45%; the Russell 3000 at 1,982.84 for a gain of 14.75 points or 0.75%; the Russell 1000 at 1,885.82 for a gain of 13.13 points or 0.70%; the Wilshire 5000 at 34,627.63 for a gain of 257.38 points or 0.75%; and the Dow Jones US Select Dividend Index at 582.45 for a loss of 2.21 points or -0.38%.
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