US Indexes Close With Gains for the Week

Nasdaq gains 2.4% in first week of 2021

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Jan 08, 2021
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 31,097.97 on Friday with a gain of 56.84 points or 0.18%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,824.68 for a gain of 20.89 points or 0.55%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 13,201.98 for a gain of 134.50 points or 1.03%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 21.68 for a loss of 0.69 points or -3.08%.

For the week and year to date, the Nasdaq gained 2.4%, the S&P 500 gained 1.8% and the Dow Jones gained 1.6%.

Friday's market movers

U.S. indexes closed with gains for the first week of 2021. Friday's closing gains showed a four-day streak for most indexes and more record highs.

The December jobs report was the top headline of the day. Highlights from the report included the following:

  • Total non-farm payrolls decreased by 140,000 following an increase of 336,000 and missing the estimate of 112,000.
  • The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7%.
  • Private non-farm payrolls decreased by 95,000 following an increase of 417,000 and missing the estimate of 115,000.
  • Average hourly earnings increased 0.8% in December and 5.1% year over year.
  • Average weekly hours were basically unchanged at 34.7 versus 34.8.
  • Government payrolls decreased by 45,000.
  • The participation rate was unchanged at 61.5%.
  • Manufacturing payrolls increased to 38,000 from 35,000.

On Friday, fallouts continued from Wednesday's riots. The Capitol police chief resigned. A Capitol police officer died from injuries. President Trump acknowledged the presidential loss in a Twitter video. He also said he would not attend the inauguration of Joe Biden. Nancy Pelosi spoke with the Department of Defense about Trump's decision-making capabilities. House Democrats also have plans for impeachment efforts.

In other news:

  • Pfizer (PFE) gained 0.19% on news that its vaccine is working on variant strains. Biden also says he wants to release all available vaccine doses for Americans.
  • The U.S. said it would not apply tariffs on French luxury goods in hopes of gaining some bargaining power after the country after France began new digital service taxes.
  • Cullinan Oncology (CGEM, Financial) gained 42.4% in its initial public offering.
  • Wholesale inventories were unchanged in November following an increase of 1.3%.
  • The weekly Baker Hughes oil rig count showed nine rigs added in the U.S., 58 added in Canada and a decrease of four internationally.
  • Consumer Credit outstanding increased by $15.27 billion in November following an increase of $4.54 billion.

Across the board:

Small-cap stocks

In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 2,091.66 for a loss of 5.23 points or -0.25%. The S&P 600 closed at 1,190.26 for a loss of 9.55 points or -0.80%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 14,545.14 for a gain of 43.99 points or 0.30%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 9,494.36 for a loss of 83.56 points or -0.87%.

Other notable indexes

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,416.37 for a loss of 4.70 points or -0.19%; the S&P 100 at 1,747.33 for a gain of 12.54 points or 0.72%; the Nasdaq 100 at 13,105.20 for a gain of 165.63 points or 1.28%; the Russell 3000 at 2,299.30 for a gain of 10.86 points or 0.47%; the Russell 1000 at 2,163.49 for a gain of 11.34 points or 0.53%; the Wilshire 5000 at 40,076.30 for a gain of 177.46 points or 0.44%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 711.51 for a loss of 3.30 points or -0.46%.

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