The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 25,539.57 on Wednesday with a gain of 207.39 points or 0.82%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,826.15 for a gain of 22.88 points or 0.82%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,575.48 for a gain of 48.36 points or 0.64%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 16.06 for a loss of 0.91 points or -5.36%.
Wednesday’s market movers
U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday with an improved Fed Beige Book report. The Federal Reserve’s monthly Beige Book labeled economic growth as modest, an improvement from the previous month’s slight to moderate. Stock gains were also helped by continued confidence in the Fed’s willingness to decrease rates if necessary for maintaining economic growth targets amidst international trade affects.
In the S&P 500, utilities led gains while the energy sector was the only sector to post a loss. Energy stocks were down for the day, with oil prices reporting a decrease of 20% from their peak.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The MBA Mortgage Applications Index increased 1.5% and the MBA’s average 30-year mortgage rate was 4.23%.
- The ADP private sector employment report for May showed payrolls increasing by 27,000, missing the estimate of 180,000 and also below the previous month’s increase of 271,000.
- The Markit Composite PMI decreased to 50.9 in May, down from 53.0.
- The ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI increased to 56.9 in May, up from 55.5.
- The EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report showed crude oil inventory increasing by 6.8 million barrels to 1,128.1 million barrels.
- The Fed's Beige Book reported modest economic growth from April to mid-May with a slightly better outlook than the previous report’s slight to moderate growth.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,506.40 for a loss of 2.16 points or -0.14%. The S&P 600 closed at 916.22 for a loss of 2.67 points or -0.29%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index closed at 9,640.10 for a gain of 15.42 points or 0.16%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value Total Stock Market Index closed at 9,300.00 for a loss of 11.59 points or -0.12%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,874.72 for a gain of 5.90 points or 0.32%; the S&P 100 at 1,241.45 for a gain of 8.50 points or 0.69%; the Russell 3000 at 1,664.12 for a gain of 12.22 points or 0.74%; the Russell 1000 at 1,566.12 for a gain of 12.50 points or 0.80%; the Wilshire 5000 at 29,012.57 for a gain of 210.69 points or 0.73%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 691.07 for a gain of 2.71 points or 0.39%.
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