The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,026.32 on Friday with a gain of 110.32 points or 0.43 %. The S&P 500 closed at 2,803.69 for a gain of 19.20 points or 0.69%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,595.35 for a gain of 62.82 points or 0.83%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 13.56 for a loss of 1.22 points or -8.25%.
For the week, the Nasdaq gained 0.04%, the S&P 500 was down 0.16% and the Dow Jones had a return of 0.67%. For the year, the Nasdaq is up 13.5%, the S&P 500 has a gain of 11.8% and the Dow Jones has a gain of 11.1%.
Friday’s market movers
Stocks rebounded Friday after three days of losses. Investors remained optimistic on China trade after the U.S. withdrew its March 1 deadline to increase tariffs. Economic reports also showed the PCE Price Index decreasing to 1.7% from 1.8%, supporting the Federal Reserve’s more dovish plans on rate increases for the year. Other reports, however, raised some concerns over economic contraction, specifically the ISM PMI, which fell to a new low.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- Personal income decreased 0.1% in January after a 1% increase in December.
- The PCE Price Index increased 0.1% in December and 1.7% annually.
- The Markit Manufacturing PMI decreased to 53 in February from 54.9.
- The ISM Manufacturing PMI decreased to 54.2 in February from 56.6.
- The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index increased to 93.8 in February from 91.2.
- The Baker Hughes North American oil rig count decreased to 1,249 from 1,259.
- Preliminary vehicle sales for February began to be released with the consensus estimate at $16.8 million, increasing from $16.7 million.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,589.80 for a gain of 14.25 points or 0.90%. The S&P 600 closed at 978.77 for a gain of 5.06 points or 0.52%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 10,034.71 for a gain of 98.00 points or 0.99%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9,781.89 for a gain of 22.86 points or0.23%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,926.68 for a gain of 16.34 points or 0.86%; the S&P 100 at 1,232.32 for a gain of 8.77 points or 0.72%; the Russell 3000 at 1,660.66 for a gain of 11.44 points or 0.69%; the Russell 1000 at 1,556.19 for a gain of 10.47 points or 0.68%; the Wilshire 5000 at 29,102.53 for a gain of 199.23 points or 0.69%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 701.84 for a gain of 3.25 points or 0.47%.
