The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 25,985.16 on Wednesday with a loss of 72.82 points or -0.28%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,792.38 for a loss of 1.52 points or -0.05%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,554.51 for a gain of 5.21 points or 0.07%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 14.76 for a loss of 0.41 points or -2.70%.
Wednesday’s market movers
Investors were watching political discussions and announcements on Wednesday. President Trump met with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to discuss nuclear war terms. On the Congressional calendar, Michael Cohen gave a testimony in front of the House Oversight Committee and will speak in front of the House Intelligence Committee Thursday. He also spoke Tuesday in private discussions with the Senate Intelligence Committee. Cohen’s comments are in regard to his dealings with the president as his former personal lawyer and the comments suggest some potentially illegal acts. On Tuesday night, the House passed a bill that would prevent a national border emergency. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made headlines for his comments in front of the House Financial Services Committee. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer also spoke in front of Congress on the U.S.’s progress in trade negotiations with China.
In the S&P 500, health care led losses. Treasury yields were mostly higher for the day with the 10-year Treasury yield increasing to 2.691%. In foreign exchange, the U.S. dollar was mostly higher with the U.S. Dollar Index increasing 0.12% to 96.15.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The MBA Mortgage Applications Index increased 5.3% and the MBA 30-year mortgage rate average decreased to 4.65% from 4.66%.
- The Goods Trade Balance reported a deficit of -$79.49 billion.
- Wholesale inventories increased 1.1% in December.
- Factory orders increased 0.1% in December.
- Pending home sales increased 4.6% in January and decreased 2.3% year over year.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led losses:
- UnitedHealth (UNH, Financial) -4.98%
- Home Depot (HD, Financial) -2.52%
- DowDuPont (DWDP, Financial) -1.39%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,580.02 for a gain of 2.53 points or 0.16%. The S&P 600 closed at 976.87 for a gain of 1.03 points or 0.11%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 9,976.38 for a gain of 36.25 points or 0.36%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9,785.94 for a loss of 3.99 points or -0.04%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,918.11 for a gain of 1.93 points or 0.10%; the S&P 100 at 1,227.30 for a loss of 1.20 points or -0.10%; the Russell 3000 at 1,653.88 for a gain of 0.15 points or 0.01%; the Russell 1000 at 1,550.06 for a loss of 0.08 points or -0.01%; the Wilshire 5000 at 28,990.77 for a gain of 20.41 points or 0.07%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 700.03 for a gain of 1.20 points or 0.17%.
