The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 29,969.52 on Thursday with a gain of 85.73 points or 0.29%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,666.72 for a loss of 2.29 points or -0.06%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 12,377.18 for a gain of 27.82 points or 0.23%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 21.53 for a gain of 0.36 points or 1.70%.
Thursday's market movers
U.S. stocks closed mostly higher, with another day of gains Thursday helping the strong start to December. U.S. coronavirus deaths and hospitalizations reached record highs. Vaccine headlines also suggested that the U.S. could reach approximately one-third of the population within three months. However, Pfizer (PFE, Financial) issued news it would need to cut its potential vaccine distribution plans due to supply chain issues. Tomorrow the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the November jobs report, providing insight into the potential health of the economy for the near term.
In other news:
- November total vehicle sales were 15.6 million on a seasonally adjusted annual basis, down from 16.3 million.
- 712,000 Americans filed for jobless claims, down from 787,000. Continuing jobless claims were 5.520 million, down from 6.089 million.
- The Markit Composite PMI increased to 58.6 in November from 56.3.
- The ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI decreased to 55.9 in November from 56.6. Separately, the ISM Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index decreased to 58.0 from 61.2, the ISM Non-Manufacturing Prices Index increased to 66.1 from 63.9, the ISM Non-Manufacturing New Orders Index decreased to 57.2 from 58.8 and the ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment Index increased to 51.5 from 50.1.
- The Treasury held auctions for four-week bills at a rate of 0.075% and eight-week bills at a rate of 0.075%.
- Freddie Mac released its weekly mortgage market survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.71%, down from 2.72%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.26%, down from 2.28%.
Across the board:
- The S&P 500 energy sector gained 1.05% after OPEC+ announced an agreement to increase production by 500,000 barrels per day in January.
- Facebook (FB, Financial) was down 1.97% after approximately 40 states threatened antitrust claims and the Trump administration says Facebook has discriminated in favor of H-1B workers.
- Lemonade (LMND, Financial) gained 20.28% after a positive Motley fool stock report.
- Zscaler (ZS, Financial) +26.45%
- Snowflake (SNOW, Financial) +16.12%
- Moderna (MRNA, Financial) +9.09%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,848.70 for a gain of 10.68 points or 0.58%. The S&P 600 closed at 1,059.03 for a gain of 7.34 points or 0.70%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 12,775.70 for a gain of 95.00 points or 0.75%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 8,675.55 for a gain of 67.91 points or 0.79%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,203.48 for a gain of 11.61 points or 0.53%; the S&P 100 at 1,682.24 for a loss of -2.78 points or -0.16%; the Nasdaq 100 at 12,467.13 for a gain of 10.72 points or 0.086%; the Russell 3000 at 2,181.57 for a gain of 2.45 points or 0.11%; the Russell 1000 at 2,062.73 for a gain of 1.68 points or 0.081%; the Wilshire 5000 at 38,102.58 for a gain of 42.50 points or 0.11%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 683.42 for a gain of 1.26 points or 0.18%.
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