The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 24,207.16 on Wednesday with a gain of 141.57 points or 0.59%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,616.10 for a gain of 5.80 points or 0.22%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,034.69 for a gain of 10.86 points or 0.15%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 18.75 for a gain of 0.15 points or 0.81%.
Wednesday’s market movers
U.S. market indexes closed with gains for a second day. A strong earnings report from Goldman Sachs was a key contributor. The company beat earnings per share estimates by $1.74 and revenue estimates by $580 million. It also declared an 80-cent dividend. Key revenue drivers were net interest income, institutional trading and investment management, which all increased from fourth-quarter 2017. The results helped financial stocks, with the S&P 500 financial sector up 2.35%.
Meanwhile, the government shutdown continued into its 26th day. Analysts are suggesting that the extended shutdown could begin to hurt the economy and cause a reduction to gross domestic product. Headlines on Wednesday also reported that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has asked the president to postpone his State of the Union address, which is planned for Jan. 29.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Mortgage Applications Index increased 13.5%.
- Import and export prices were released. Export prices decreased 0.6% in December and increased 1.1% annually. Import prices decreased 1% in December and decreased 0.6% annually.
- The NAHB Housing Market Index increased to 58 in January from 56.
- The Fed Beige Book was released, showing modest to moderate growth in eight of 12 Federal Reserve districts.
- Retail sales and business inventories were delayed due to the government shutdown.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
- Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial) 9.54%
- UnitedHealth (UNH, Financial) 1.79%
- American Express (AXP, Financial) 1.45%
- Apple (AAPL, Financial) 1.22%
- JPMorgan (JPM, Financial) 0.81%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,454.70 for a gain of 9.48 points or 0.66%. The S&P 600 closed at 906.84 for a gain of 7.07 points or 0.79%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 9,082.76 for a gain of 51.78 points or 0.57%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9,243.31 for a gain of 104.61 points or 1.14%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,775.90 for a gain of 12 points or 0.68%; the S&P 100 at 1,159.94 for a gain of 2.49 points or 0.22%; the Russell 3000 at 1,543.35 for a gain of 4.58 points or 0.30%; the Russell 1000 at 1,448.03 for a gain of 3.90 points or 0.27%; the Wilshire 5000 at 27,059.48 for a gain of 79.88 points or 0.30%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 659.52 for a gain of 0.02 points or 0.01%.
