The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 30,723.60 on Wednesday with a gain of 36.12 points or 0.12%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,830.17 for a gain of 3.86 points or 0.10%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 13,610.54 for a loss of 2.23 points or-0.02%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 22.91 for a loss of 2.65 points or -10.37%.
Wednesday's Market Movers
U.S. stocks closed mostly higher Wednesday. Congressional leaders continued discussions on stimulus measures.
PayPal (PYPL, Financial) was the top earnings headline of the day. PayPal reported revenue of $6.12 billion, increasing 23.4% year over year, with a revenue beat of $30 million. Q4 GAAP EPS was $1.32, beating estimates by $0.66, while non-GAAP EPS of $1.08 beat estimates by $0.08.
On the economic calendar, investors were watching the January ADP employment report, which showed an increase of 174,000 private sector jobs for the month, following a decrease of -78,000 and beating the estimate of 50,000.
In other news:
- The S&P 500 is expected to pull out of an earnings recession in the fourth quarter.
- The MBA Mortgage Applications Index increased 8.1% following a decrease of -4.1%. The MBA's average 30-year mortgage rate decreased to 2.92% from 2.95%.
- The Markit Composite PMI Final increased to 58.7 from 55.3.
- The ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI increased to 58.7 in January from 57.7. Separately, the ISM Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index decreased to 59.9 from 60.5, the ISM Non-Manufacturing Prices Index decreased to 64.2 from 64.4, the ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment Index increased to 55.2 from 48.7 and the ISM Non-Manufacturing New Orders Index increased to 61.8 from 58.6.
- EIA Crude Oil inventory decreased by -1 million barrels, according to the EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
- The Treasury held auctions for 105-day bills at a rate of 0.055% and 154-day bills at a rate of 0.055%.
- Total vehicle sales increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16.6 million in January from 16.2 million.
Across the board, the following recorded gains::
- Dynatrace (DT, Financial) 13.86%
- Triumph Group (TGI, Financial) 13.72 %
- Global X Cannabis ETF (POTX, Financial) 10.01%
- Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE, Financial) 4.27%
- Alphabet Class C (GOOG, Financial) 7.40%
- Moderna (MRNA, Financial) 4.59%
Small-Cap Stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 2,159.70 for a gain of 8.26 points or 0.38%. The S&P 600 closed at 1,217.59 for a gain of 5.51 points or 0.45%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 15,039.13 for a gain of 35.64 points or 0.24%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 9,610.28 for a gain of 64.51 points or 0.68%.
Other Notable Indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,418.89 for a gain of 1.45 points or 0.060%; the S&P 100 at 1,765.04 for a gain of 4.08 points or 0.23%; the Nasdaq 100 at 13,402.37 for a loss of 53.75 points or -0.40%; the Russell 3000 at 2,309.94 for a gain of 2.36 points or 0.10%; the Russell 1000 at 2,169.17 for a gain of 1.77 points or 0.082%; the Wilshire 5000 at 40,353.45 for a gain of 53.39 points or 0.13%; and the Dow Jones US Select Dividend Index at 713.32 for a gain of 6.02 points or 0.85%.
Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Sign up for a free 7-day trial here.
