U.S. market indexes were higher Friday. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18138.38 for a gain of 39.44 points or 0.22%. The S&P 500 was also higher, closing at 2132.98 for a gain of 0.43 points or 0.02%. The Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 5214.16 for a gain of 0.83 points or 0.02%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 16.12 for a loss of -0.57 points or -3.42%.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial) 1.89%
Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) 0.88%
Leading economic reports on the calendar for Friday included the Producer Price Index, Retail Sales, Business Inventories, Consumer Sentiment and the Baker Hughes Rig Count. The Producer Price Index increased 0.7% for the year. The Producer Price Index excluding food and energy gained 1.2%. Retail sales were up 0.6% from a month ago. Business inventories increased 0.2%. The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index was reported at 87.9, up from its previous reading of 91.2. The Baker Hughes Rig Count was higher by 15 rigs for the week.
Stocks gained for the day after signs of economic improvement and positive reports from banking stocks. Leading large cap banking stocks JPMorgan (JPM, Financial) and Citigroup (C, Financial) posted positive earnings results for the third quarter.
Investors were also closely watching Wells Fargo (WFC, Financial) as investigations continue regarding the bank’s fraudulent accounts. A CNBC report Friday included comments from new Wells Fargo CEO, Tim Sloan, on the bank’s settlements and current outlook.
Disclosure: I do not own any stocks included in this article.
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