The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 33,072.88 on Friday with a gain of 453.40 points or 1.39%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,974.54 for a gain of 65.02 points or 1.66%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 13,138.72 for a gain of 161.05 points or 1.24%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 18.86 for a loss of 0.95 points or -4.80%.
For the year, the S&P 500 is up 5.8%, the Dow Jones is up approximately 8% and the Nasdaq has a gain of 1.94%.
Friday's market movers
U.S. stocks ended higher on the last day of the week. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones both reported new closing highs. For the week, the S&P 500 gained 1.7%, the Dow Jones gained 1.4% and the Nasdaq was down 0.6%.
The S&P 500 energy sector gained 2.48% with oil prices higher for the day. A ship blocking the Suez Canal has rerouted other supplier ships and caused problems for oil and other cargo supply. The S&P 500 financial sector also gained Friday, up 1.57% on news that removing dividend and buyback restrictions will be good for banks.
In other news:
- Personal income decreased 7.1% in February following an increase of 10.1%. Personal spending decreased 1.0% following an increase of 3.4%.
- The PCE Price Index increased 0.2% in February following an increase of 0.3%. Year over year, the PCE Price Index increased 1.6% through February, following an increase of 1.4%.
- The Core PCE Price Index increased 0.1% in February following an increase of 0.2%. Year over year, the Core PCE Price Index increased 1.4% through February, following an increase of 1.5%.
- Wholesale inventories increased 0.5% in February following an increase of 1.4%.
- February monthly retail inventories were basically unchanged at $625.9 billion. In January 2021, monthly retail inventories decreased 0.3%.
- The goods trade balance showed a deficit of $86.72 billion in February following a deficit of $84.58 billion.
- The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index increased to 84.9 in March from 76.8.
- The Baker Hughes weekly oil rig count showed an increase of six rigs in the U.S., a decrease of 11 rigs in Canada and an increase of 24 rigs internationally.
Across the board Friday:
- ZaZa Energy (ZAZA, Financial) +99.60%
- Applied Materials (AMAT, Financial) +7.45%
- Intel (INTC, Financial) +4.60%
- iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (SOXX, Financial) +4.94%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 2,221.48 for a gain of 38.36 points or 1.76%. The S&P 600 closed at 1,331.26 for a gain of 31.27 points or 2.41%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 14,577.75 for a gain of 213.35 points or 1.49%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 11,003.58 for a gain of 226.42 points or 2.10%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,626.57 for a gain of 59.54 points or 2.32%; the S&P 100 at 1,798.10 for a gain of 26.65 points or 1.50%; the Nasdaq 100 at 12,979.12 for a gain of 198.61 points or 1.55%; the Russell 3000 at 2,383.30 for a gain of 38.72 points or 1.65%; the Russell 1000 at 2,238.66 for a gain of 36.20 points or 1.64%; the Wilshire 5000 at 41,620.80 for a gain of 671.34 points or 1.64%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 820.85 for a gain of 11.62 points or 1.44%.
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