U.S. market indexes gained on Wednesday following President Donald Trump’s first speech before Congress.
For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 21,115.55 for a gain of 303.31 points or 1.46%. The Standard & Poor's 500 closed at 2,395.96 for a gain of 32.32 points or 1.37%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 5,904.03 for a gain of 78.59 points or 1.35%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower for the day at 12.54 for a loss of 0.38 points or 2.94%.
Wednesday’s market movers
Economic reports affecting market trading on Wednesday included the following:
- Motor vehicle sales were 17.6 million SAAR.
- The Mortgage Bankers Association’s mortgage applications index increased 5.8%.
- The Personal Income and Outlays report showed an increase of 0.4% in personal income. The PCE Price Index reported an annual increase of 1.9%.
- The PMI Manufacturing Index decreased to 54.2.
- The ISM Manufacturing Index increased to 57.7.
- Construction spending decreased 1.0%.
- The EIA Petroleum Status report showed an increase of 1.5 million barrels in oil inventory for the week.
- The Beige Book was released with economic activity reported as modest to moderate.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
- JPMorgan (JPM, Financial) 3.29%.
- American Express (AXP, Financial) 2.32%.
- The Travelers Companies Inc. (TRV, Financial) 2.25%.
- ExxonMobil (XOM, Financial) 2.09%.
- Boeing (BA, Financial) 2.04%.
- Apple (AAPL, Financial) 2.04%.
In the broad market, financial stocks led gains. Technology was also higher with the S&P technology sector gaining 1.41%.
Small-cap stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,413.64 for a gain of 26.95 points or 1.94%. The S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 862.16 for a gain of 15.67 points or 1.85%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 8,413.73 for a gain of 151.55 points or 1.83%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9,955.80 for a gain of 159.92 points or 1.63%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1758.27 for a gain of 28.93 points or 1.67%; the S&P 100 Index at 1061.21 for a gain of 14.66 points or 1.40%; the Russell 3000 Index at 1422.33 for a gain of 19.50 points or 1.39%; the Russell 1000 Index at 1328.97 for a gain of 17.62 points or 1.34%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 665.26 for a gain of 6.65 points or 1.01%.
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