U.S. market indexes were higher on Wednesday with all three major indexes reaching new highs.
For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 20,068.51 for a gain of 155.80 points or 0.78%. The Standard & Por's 500 closed at 2,298.37 for a gain of 18.30 points or 0.80%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 5,656.34 for a gain of 55.38 points or 0.99%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower for the day at 10.81 for a loss of 0.26 points or 2.35%.
Wednesday’s market movers
Fourth quarter earnings and a positive outlook for President Donald Trump’s pro-business growth policies helped stocks gain on Wednesday. Economic reports affecting trading for the day included the following:
- The Mortgage Bankers Association’s mortgage applications index showed mortgage applications increasing by 4% for the week.
- The FHFA House Price Index increased 0.5% and gained 6.1% for the year.
- The EIA Petroleum Status report showed an increase in oil inventory of 2.8 million barrels for the week.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
- Boeing (BA, Financial) 4.24%.
- Caterpillar (CAT, Financial) 1.98%.
- Apple (AAPL, Financial) 1.59%.
- JPMorgan (JPM, Financial) 1.55%.
In the broad market, financial and industrial stocks led gains. Technology stocks were also higher with the S&P 500 technology sector up 0.96%.
Small-cap stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,382.44 for a gain of 13.23 points or 0.97%. The S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 846.78 for a gain of 8.77 points or 1.05%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 8,186.75 for a gain of 82.17 points or 1.01%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9,854.21 for a gain of 72.56 points or 0.74%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,710.29 for a gain of 13.11 points or 0.77%; the S&P 100 Index at 1,013.24 for a gain of 8.25 points or 0.82%; the Russell 3000 Index at 1,367.99 for a gain of 10.86 points or 0.80%; the Russell 1000 Index at 1,276.40 for a gain of 9.95 points or 0.79%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 646.00 for a gain of 6.54 points or 1.02%.
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