The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 32,619.48 on Thursday with a gain of 199.42 points or 0.62%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,909.52 for a gain of 20.38 points or 0.52%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 12,977.68 for a gain of 15.79 points or 0.12%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 19.81 for a loss of 1.39 points or -6.56%.
Thursday's Market Movers
U.S. stocks gained for the day, avoiding a three-day selloff. The Dow Jones led the major indexes with a gain of 0.62%.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis released its third and final reading on fourth quarter 2020 gross domestic product. Gross domestic product increased 4.3% in the fourth quarter on an annualized basis The final gross domestic product reading was 0.2% higher than the second reading. Also in the gross domestic product report, corporate profits showed a decrease of -3.3% in the fourth quarter, down from the 27% increase in the third quarter and also below the estimate of 2%.
Another headline on the economic calendar included the jobless claims report, where jobless claims were the lowest they have been since last March. The weekly report showed 684,000 Americans filed for jobless claims, down from 781,000 in the previous week. Continuing jobless claims were 3.870 million, down from 4.134 million.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden gave his first public press conference. The president set a target of 200 million vaccine doses for his first 100 days in office. Reports are showing that 25% of the U.S. population has been vaccinated against Covid-19.
In other news:
- The Fed has plans to remove bank restrictions on dividends and buybacks after June 30. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell also said there will be heightened transparency for asset purchase tapering plans.
- Facebook (FB, Financial), Google (GOOG, Financial)(GOOGL, Financial) and Twitter (TWTR, Financial) executives discussed liability concerns before Congress.
- The Kansas Fed Manufacturing Index decreased to 23 from 26.
- The Treasury held auctions for 4-week bills at a rate of 0.015%, 8-week bills at a rate of 0.020% and 7-year notes at a rate of 1.300%.
- Mortgage rates were the highest in nine months, according to a weekly mortgage market survey by Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.17%, up from 3.09%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.45%, up from 2.40%.
Across the board:
- GameStop (GME, Financial) +52.49% with a rebound after some after-earnings disappointment
- Pfizer (PFE, Financial) +0.17%
- Home Depot (HD, Financial) +1.51%
- Tesla (TSLA, Financial) +1.61%
- Boeing (BA, Financial) +3.25% on plans to resume 787 plane deliveries
- Expedia (EXPE, Financial) +5.13%
Small-Cap Stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 2,183.12 for a gain of 48.86 points or 2.29%. The S&P 600 closed at 1,299.99 for a gain of 33.16 points or 2.62%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 14,364.40 for a gain of 261.13 points or 1.85%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 10,777.16 for a gain of 283.86 points or 2.71%.
Other Notable Indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,567.03 for a gain of 51.56 points or 2.05%; the S&P 100 at 1,771.45 for a gain of 5.48 points or 0.31%; the Nasdaq 100 at 12,780.51 for a loss of 18.37 points or -0.14%; the Russell 3000 at 2,344.58 for a gain of 15.61 points or 0.67%; the Russell 1000 at 2,202.46 for a gain of 12.08 points or 0.55%; the Wilshire 5000 at 40,949.46 for a gain of 274.00 points or 0.67%; and the Dow Jones US Select Dividend Index at 809.23 for a gain of 13.17 points or 1.65%.
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