The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 25,648.02 on Wednesday with a gain of 115.97 points or 0.45%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,850.96 for a gain of 16.55 points or 0.58%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,822.15 for a gain of 87.65 points or 1.13%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 16.49 for a loss of 1.57 points or -8.69%.
Wednesday’s market movers
Stocks closed higher for a second day on Wednesday as investors digested a string of new information. Headlines from China showed the country missing estimates on retail sales, industrial output and fixed asset investment in April. Reports in the U.S. also showed retail sales, industrial production and manufacturing production were all lower in April. New announcements on trade, however, helped to change the market’s momentum. The Trump administration said it will delay new auto tariffs for up to six months. The Treasury secretary also reported that the U.S. is close to resolving steel tariff rates with Canada and Mexico, which have been holding up the new North American trade deal.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The MBA Mortgage Applications Index decreased 0.6% and the MBA’s 30-year average mortgage rate was reported at 4.4%.
- Retail sales decreased 0.2% in April and increased 3.1% year over year.
- Industrial production decreased 0.5% in April and increased 0.9% year over year.
- Manufacturing production decreased 0.5% in April and decreased 0.2% year over year.
- Business inventories were unchanged in March.
- The NAHB Housing Market Index increased to 66 in May from 63.
- Oil inventories increased to 1,118.0 million barrels from 1114.3 million barrels.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,548.27 for a gain of 5.21 points or 0.34%. The S&P 600 closed at 946.06 for a gain of 1.29 points or 0.14%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 9,837.43 for a gain of 46.55 points or 0.48%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9,536.88 for a loss of -1.87 points or -0.02%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,899.98 for a gain of 5.06 points or 0.27%; the S&P 100 at 1,262.30 for a gain of 9.89 points or 0.79%; the Russell 3000 at 1,680.91 for a gain of 9.45 points or 0.57%; the Russell 1000 at 1,579.88 for a gain of 9.15 points or 0.58%; the Wilshire 5000 at 29,340.57 for a gain of 165.45 points or 0.57%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 700.05 for a gain of 0.82 points or 0.12%.
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