U.S. market indexes were higher on Thursday. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 21,948.10 for a gain of 55.67 points or 0.25%. The S&P 500 closed 2,471.65 for a gain of 14.06 points or 0.57%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 6,428.66 for a gain of 60.35 points or 0.95%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower for the day at 10.59 for a loss of -0.63 points or -5.61%.
For the month of August, the Dow Jones gained 0.27%, the S&P 500 gained 0.05% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.26%.
Thursday’s market movers
Valuations were helped by biotech stocks on Thursday and large-cap indexes posted their fifth month of gains. Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- Jobless claims increased by 1,000 to 236,000.
- Personal income increased 0.4% for the month.
- The PCE Price Index reported a 1.4% increase year over year.
- The Pending Home Sales Index decreased 0.8% for the month.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
UnitedHealth (UNH, Financial) 1.54%
General Electric (GE, Financial) 1.11%
In the broad market, health care stocks led gains. Technology was also higher with the S&P 500 technology sector gaining 0.60%.
Small-cap stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,405.28 for a gain of 13.95 points or 1%. The S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 840.43 for a gain of 8.16 points or 0.98%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 8,589.45 for a gain of 100.75 points or 1.19%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9,481.85 for a gain of 63.45 points or 0.67%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,730.88 for a gain of 14.21 points or 0.83%; the S&P 100 Index at 1,093.78 for a gain of 5.85 points or 0.54%; the Russell 3000 Index at 1,461.81 for a gain of 9.42 points or 0.65%; the Russell 1000 Index at 1,369.61 for a gain of 8.44 points or 0.62%; and the Dow Jones US Select Dividend Index at 657.03 for a gain of 0.65 points or 0.10%.
