U.S. market indexes were higher on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 24,272.35 for a gain of 331.67 points or 1.39%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,647.58 for a gain of 21.51 points or 0.82%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 6,873.97 for a gain of 49.58 points or 0.73%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher for the day at 11.34 for a gain of 0.64 points or 5.98%.
Thursday’s market movers
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones closed at new highs on Thursday. Continued progress in tax reform helped stocks to gain.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- Jobless claims decreased by 2,000 to 238,000.
- Personal income increased 0.4% for the month.
- The PCE Price Index reported a 1.6% year-over-year increase.
- Average mortgage rates were lower for the week. Freddie Mac reported the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 3.90%, down from 3.92%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.30%, down from 3.32%.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
United Technologies (UTX, Financial) 2.78%
UnitedHealth (UNH, Financial) 2.72%
Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial) 2.60%
Caterpillar (CAT, Financial) 2.24%
In the broad market, industrial and energy stocks led gains. Technology was also higher with the S&P 500 technology sector gaining 0.89%.
Small-cap stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,544.14 for a gain of 1.84 points or 0.12%. The S&P 600 Index closed at 942.94for a loss of -1.16 points or -0.12%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 9,396.72 for a gain of 47.57 points or 0.51%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 10,319.81 for a loss of -19.39 points or -0.19%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,899.18 for a gain of 10.28 points or 0.54%; the S&P 100 Index at 1,167.79 for a gain of 9.54 points or 0.82%; the Russell 3000 Index at 1,569.22 for a gain of 11.52 points or 0.74%; the Russell 1000 Index at 1,467.42 for a gain of 11.52 points or 0.79%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 703.16 for a gain of 4.62 points or 0.66%.
