Stocks were mixed on Wednesday as U.S. market indexes ended the month with gains.
For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 19,123.58 for a gain of 1.98 points or 0.01%. The Standard & Poor's 500 closed at 2,198.81 for a loss of 5.85 points or 0.27%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 5,323.68 for a loss of 56.24 points or 1.05%. The VIX Volatility Index showed increased volatility in prices at 13.33 with a gain of 0.43 points or 3.33%.
For the month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 5.8%, the S&P 500 gained 3.42%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.59%.
Wednesday’s market movers
Leading economic reports affecting trading for the day included the following:
- Pending Home Sales Index increased 0.1% for the month.
- Personal Income and Outlays report showed an increase of 0.6% in monthly personal income. The PCE Index showed an inflation rate of 1.4%.
- ADP Employment report showed an increase of 216,000 jobs in the private sector for November.
- The EIA Petroleum Status report showed a decrease in oil inventory of 900,000 barrels. OPEC also announced an agreement on Wednesday that will reduce production.
- Beige Book was reported on Wednesday showing moderate to modest economic growth.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains on Wednesday:
In the broad market the energy and financial sectors led gains. Technology was lower for the day with S&P 500 technology stocks down 1.19%.
Small-cap stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 followed the day’s trend lower closing at 1,322.34 for a loss of 5.88 points or 0.44%. The S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 812.02 for a loss of 2.40 points or 0.29%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 7,861.48 for a loss of 15.33 points or 0.19%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9,363.29 for a loss of 11.64 points or 0.12%
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,627.52 for a loss of 3.59 points or 0.22%; the S&P 100 Index at 968.84 for a loss of 3.15 points or 0.32%; the Russell 3000 Index at 1,308.29 for a loss of 3.45 points or 0.26%; the Russell 1000 Index at 1,220.68 for a loss of 3.03 points or 0.25%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 622.52 for a loss of 3.86 points or 0.62%.
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