The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,424.99 on Friday with a gain of 40.36 points or 0.15%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,892.74 for a gain of 13.35 points or 0.46%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,938.69 for a gain of 46.91 points or 0.59%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 12.82 for a loss of 0.76 points or -5.60%.
For the week, the Nasdaq gained 1.74%, the S&P 500 gained 1.29% and the Dow Jones gained 1.17%. For the year, the Nasdaq is up 19.6%, the S&P 500 has a gain of 15.4% and the Dow Jones has a gain of 13.1%.
Friday’s market movers
U.S. market indexes closed higher Friday with the S&P 500 reporting seven consecutive closing gains. The day’s gains were helped by the March jobs report, which showed an increase of 196,000, exceeding consensus of 180,000 and the previous month’s report of 33,000. Energy stocks also supported gains with the S&P 500 energy sector up 1.76% as oil prices rallied to close above $70 per barrel.
In Treasuries, the yield curve ended with an inversion primarily caused by two-year to 10-year securities. The 10-year note closed with a yield of 2.496%.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- Nonfarm payrolls increased by 196,000 in March. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.8%.
- The Baker Hughes North American oil rig count decreased to 1,093 from 1,094.
- Consumer credit increased by $15.19 billion in February.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
- Chevron (CVX, Financial) 1.30%
- Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA, Financial) 1.00%
- Home Depot (HD, Financial) 0.79%
- American Express (AXP, Financial) 0.76%
- Walmart (WMT, Financial) 0.73%
- Apple (AAPL, Financial) 0.67%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,582.56 for a gain of 15.06 points or 0.96%. The S&P 600 closed at 966.15 for a gain of 8.50 points or 0.89%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 10,033.05 for a gain of 87.12 points or 0.88%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9,728.97 for a gain of 69.36 points or 0.72%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,948.91 for a gain of 14.12 points or 0.73%; the S&P 100 at 1,275.54 for a gain of 4.14 points or 0.33%; the Russell 3000 at 1,706.28 for a gain of 8.85 points or 0.52%; the Russell 1000 at 1,602.88 for a gain of 7.78 points or 0.49%; the Wilshire 5000 at 29,887.04 for a gain of 159.81 points or 0.54%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 717.44 for a gain of 4.81 points or 0.67%.
