U.S. market indexes were higher on Wednesday. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 22,024.87 for a gain of 25.88 points or 0.12%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,468.11 for a gain of 3.50 points or 0.14%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 6,345.11 for a gain of 12.10 points or 0.19%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower for the day at 11.74 for a loss of -0.30 points or -2.49%.
Wednesday’s market movers
The Dow Jones finished the day over 22,000, which helped renew market confidence. Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The Federal Reserve released the minutes from its most recent meeting. Slow changes in the inflation rate are a factor. The minutes also gave more insight on the Fed’s plans to begin selling balance sheet assets.
- The Mortgage Bankers Association’s mortgage applications index increased 0.1%.
- Housing starts decreased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.155 million.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
United Technologies (UNH, Financial) 2.38%
Home Depot (HD, Financial) 1.39%
McDonald's (MCD, Financial) 0.81%
Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) 0.59%
In the broad market, materials stocks led gains. Technology was also higher with the S&P 500 technology sector gaining 0.3%.
Small-cap stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,383.53 for a gain of 0.30 points or 0.02%. The S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 835.49 for a gain of 0.74 points or 0.09%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 8,423.47 for a gain of 7.95 points or 0.09%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9,438.73 for a gain of 17.13 points or 0.18%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,725.83 for a gain of 4.03 points or 0.23%; the S&P 100 Index at 1,092.58 for a gain of 0.82 points or 0.08%; the Russell 3000 Index at 1,456.76 for a gain of 2.29 points or 0.16%; the Russell 1000 Index at 1,366.21 for a gain of 2.30 points or 0.17%; and the Dow Jones US Select Dividend Index at 657.70 for a gain of 1.06 points or 0.16%.
