The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,124.57 on Wednesday with a gain of 60.55 points or 0.23%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,914.04 for a gain of 16.52 points or 0.57%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 8,109.69 for a gain of 79.65 points or 0.99%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 12.26 for a loss of -0.24 points or -1.92%.
Wednesday market movers
U.S. market indexes gained again on Wednesday with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite reporting their fourth day of new closing highs. North American trade agreements, higher oil prices and a higher-than-expected reading on GDP were all positive factors for valuations.
Across the broad market, consumer discretionary, technology and materials led gains. Top contributors for the day included Shoe Carnival (SCVL, Financial), California Resources (CRC, Financial) and Barnes & Noble Education (BNED, Financial).
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The Mortgage Bankers Association’s mortgage applications index decreased -1.7% for the week.
- The second-quarter report on GDP was revised up to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.2%. Estimates were for 4.0% and the previous reading was 4.1%.
- Year-over-year corporate profit growth for the second quarter was reported at 6.7%.
- The Pending Home Sales Index reported a monthly decrease of -0.7% to 106.2.
- The EIA Petroleum Status report showed a weekly decrease in oil inventory of -2.6 million barrels.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
- General Electric (GE, Financial) 1.65%
- Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) 1.60%
- Apple (AAPL, Financial) 1.49%
Small-cap stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,734.75 for a gain of 6.33 points or 0.37%. The S&P 600 closed at 1,094.34 for a gain of 1.70 points or 0.16%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 10,853.38 for a gain of 45.78 points or 0.42%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 10,771.26 for a gain of 17.72 points or 0.16%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,050.23 for a gain of 6.29 points or 0.31%; the S&P 100 at 1,291.51 for a gain of 8.27 points or 0.64%; the Russell 3000 at 1,732.12 for a gain of 9.29 points or 0.54%; the Russell 1000 at 1,617.25 for a gain of 8.90 points or 0.55%; the Wilshire 5000 at 30,384.52 for a gain of 182.59 points or 0.60%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 724.65 for a gain of 1.58 points or 0.22%.
