The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 32,420.06 on Wednesday with a loss of 3.09 points or -0.01%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,889.14 for a loss of 21.38 points or -0.55%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 12,961.89 for a loss of 265.81 points or -2.01%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 21.14 for a gain of 0.84 points or 4.14%.
Wednesday's market movers
U.S. stocks sold off for a second day, with all of the major indexes ending lower. U.S. stocks followed a global trend, with Asia and Europe ending mostly lower on Wednesday. Germany, Netherlands and France all upped their coronavirus precautions.
In other news:
- The 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields were both slightly lower Wednesday.
- The MBA Mortgage Applications Index decreased 2.5% following a decrease of 2.2%. The MBA's average 30-year mortgage rate increased to 3.36% from 3.28%.
- Durable goods orders decreased by 1.1% in February, following an increase of 3.5%. Durable goods orders excluding transportation decreased 0.9% and durable goods orders excluding defense decreased 0.7%.
- The Markit Composite PMI decreased to 59.1 in March from 59.5. Separately, the Markit Manufacturing PMI increased to 59 from 58.6 and the Markit Services PMI increased to 60 from 59.8.
- Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke before Congress in a second day of testimony discussing responses to government stimulus legislation.
- Crude oil inventory increased by 1.9 million barrels, according to the EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
- The Treasury held auctions for two-year notes at a rate of 0.035%, 119-day bills at a rate of 0.030% and five-year notes at a rate of 0.850%.
Across the board:
- Energy led gains and biotech led losses.
- Wells Fargo (WFC, Financial) down 0.31% with news of a Computershare deal.
- Peloton (PTON, Financial) down 10.20% on news of several strategic acquisitions.
- GameStop (GME, Financial) down 33.79% after earnings release.
- Applied Materials (AMAT, Financial) up 4.06%.
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 2,134.27 for a loss of 51.42 points or -2.35%. The S&P 600 closed at 1,266.83 for a loss of 22.42 points or -1.74%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 14,103.27 for a loss of 399.79 points or -2.76%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 10,493.30 for a loss of 100.07 points or -0.94%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,515.47 for a loss of 15.44 points or -0.61%; the S&P 100 at 1,765.97 for a loss of 13.86 points or -0.78%; the Nasdaq 100 at 12,798.88 for a loss of 218.91 points or -1.68%; the Russell 3000 at 2,328.96 for a loss of 19.02 points or -0.81%; the Russell 1000 at 2,190.38 for a loss of 15.33 points or -0.69%; the Wilshire 5000 at 40,675.46 for a loss of 327.09 points or -0.80%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 796.06 for a gain of 1.13 points or 0.14%.
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