The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,307.79 on Thursday with a loss of 122.35 points or -0.46%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,917.52 for a loss of 6.21 points or -0.21%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 8,036.77 for a loss of 12.87 points or -0.16%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 14.42 for a loss of 0.38 points or -2.57%.
Thursday’s market movers
U.S. market indexes closed lower for a second day after the Federal Open Market Committee announced it would keep its federal funds rate unchanged. With gross domestic product rising 3.2% in the first quarter but inflation slowing slightly, investors were unsure of the Federal Reserve’s stance and even awaited the possibility of a decrease. In the U.K., the Bank of England also followed the Fed’s report with a rate hold and improved outlook for economic growth. The carryover to the U.S. Treasury market overall included increases to longer-term Treasury yields with the 30-year Treasury’s price falling -22/32 to a yield of 2.939%.
Investors also digested another full day of earnings on Thursday. Notable earnings reports included DowDuPont (DWDP), Dow (DOW, Financial), OnDeck (ONDK), CBS (CBS), Gilead Sciences (GILD) and U.S. Steel (X). Topping the earnings gainers for the day were Materion (MTRN) and Installed Building Products (IBP).
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- Jobless claims were unchanged at 230,000.
- Factory orders increased 1.9% in March after decreasing 0.3% in February.
- The Treasury held an auction for four-week bills at a rate of 2.39%.
- Mortgage rates were lower according to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage market survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.14%, decreasing from 4.20%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.60%, decreasing from 3.64%.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led losses
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,582.65 for a gain of 6.27 points or 0.40%. The S&P 600 closed at 969.10 for a gain of 2.34 points or 0.24%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 10,056.27 for a gain of 41.06 points or 0.41%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9,736.12 for a gain of 1.37 points or 0.01%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,952.87 for a gain of 4.00 points or 0.21%; the S&P 100 at 1,292.88 for a loss of 4.81 points or -0.37%; the Russell 3000 at 1,719.63 for a loss of 15.98 points or -0.92%; the Russell 1000 at 1,616.37 for a loss of 15.50 points or -0.95%; the Wilshire 5000 at 30,127.49 for a loss of 53.51 points or -0.18%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 713.50 for a loss of 1.03 points or -0.14%.
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