The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 25,366.43 on Wednesday with a gain of 617.70 or 2.50%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,743.78 for a gain of 61.61 points or 2.30%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,291.59 for a gain of 208.89 points or 2.95%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 18.49 for a loss of 0.53 points or -2.79%.
Wednesday’s market movers
Stocks gained Wednesday after comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested interest rate policy was nearing stabilization. Powell spoke at the Economic Club in New York, discussing the Fed’s first-ever financial stability report. Meanwhile, oil prices were lower Wednesday and investors continued to watch the outlook for the weekend’s trade negotiation meeting with China. In the S&P 500, technology led gains and the utility sector was lower.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The Mortgage Bankers Association’s mortgage applications index increased 5.5%.
- The Goods Trade Balance report showed a deficit of $77.25 billion in October.
- Corporate profits increased 3.3% in the third quarter.
- The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported an annual gross domestic product growth rate of 3.5% in the third quarter.
- New home sales decreased by 8.9% in October to 0.544 million.
- The Treasury held an auction for seven-year notes at a rate of 2.974%.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
- Boeing (BA, Financial) 4.95%
- Caterpillar (CAT, Financial) 4.79%
- Visa (V, Financial) 4.08%
- Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) 3.83%
- Apple (AAPL, Financial) 3.80%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,530.38 for a gain of 37.53 points or 2.51%. The S&P 600 closed at 961.11 for a gain of 22.66 points or 2.41%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 9,518.59 for a gain of 243.68 points or 2.63%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9,688.48 for a gain of 138.10 points or 1.45%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,868.96 for a gain of 35.88 points or 1.96%; the S&P 100 at 1,216.09 for a gain of 29.54 points or 2.49%; the Russell 3000 at 1,616.59 for a gain of 36.71 points or 2.32%; the Russell 1000 at 1,516.27 for a gain of 34.22 points or 2.31%; the Wilshire 5000 at 28,293.18 for a gain of 648.26 points or 2.34%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 692.94 for a gain of 5.87 points or 0.85%.
