The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 34,751.32 on Thursday with a loss of 63.07 points or -0.18%. The S&P 500 closed at 4,473.75 for a loss of 6.95 points or -0.16%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 15,181.92 for a gain of 20.39 points or 0.13%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 18.69 for a gain of 0.51 points or 2.81%.
Thursday’s market movers
U.S. stocks ended mostly lower Thursday, even with an unexpected rise in U.S. August retail sales. August retail sales increased 0.7% following a decrease of 1.8% and beating the estimate by 0.7%. Investors continued to show caution, though the Nasdaq posted a 0.13% gain for the day. Equities have reached some peak highs to start the month of September, which historically has been a down month, but investors are still showing uncertainty over economic data.
In other news:
- August retail sales increased 0.7% following a decrease of 1.8% and beating the estimate by 0.7%. Retail sales excluding autos were up 1.8% for the month. Year over year, retail sales were up 15.1%.
- 332,000 Americans filed for jobless claims, up from 312,000 and higher than the estimated 330,000. Continuing jobless claims were 266,500.
- Biden is asking Congress to approve the $3.5 trillion spending plan.
- House Democrats are considering electric vehicle tax credits of up to $12,500.
- Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index 30.7 following 19.4.
- Business inventories increased 5% in July.
- The Treasury held auctions for four-week bills at a rate of 0.055% and eight-week bills at a rate of 0.055%.
- Net long-term Treasury international capital flows were $2 billion for July. Overall net capital flows were $126 billion and foreign bond investment was $10.2 billion.
Across the board:
- Affymax Inc. (AFFY, Financial) climbed 90.87%.
- Global Gaming Technologies (BLKCF, Financial) rose 25.71%.
- American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL, Financial) was up 2.63%.
- AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC, Financial) gained 0.4% with news it will accept bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies by the end of the year.
- The 10-year Treasury ended with a yield of 1.336%.
- Sector funds leading gains for the day included the Global X Cannabis ETF (POTX, Financial) with a gain of 1.30%, the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY, Financial) with a gain of 0.46% and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB, Financial) with a gain of 0.41%.
- Leading losses for the day were the KraneShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility (KARS, Financial) with a loss of 1.89%, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE, Financial) with a loss of 1.13% and Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLB, Financial) with a loss of 1.10%.
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 2,232.91 for a loss of 1.54 points or -0.069%. The S&P 600 closed at 1,329.45 for a loss of 4.05 points or -0.30%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 15,169.86 for a gain of 37.29 points or 0.25%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 10,912.71 for a loss of 52.82 points or -0.48%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,697.30 for a loss of 4.33 points or -0.16%; the S&P 100 at 2,056.46 for a loss of 3.23 points or -0.16%; the Nasdaq 100 at 15,515.91 for a gain of 12.38 points or 0.080%; the Russell 3000 at 2,653.98 for a loss of 2.05 points or -0.077%; the Russell 1000 at 2,511.25 for a loss of 1.95 points or -0.078%; the Wilshire 5000 at 46,490.39 for a loss of 43.96 points or -0.094%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 831.87 for a loss of 6.38 points or -0.76%.
