US Indexes Rally Friday, but Close Lower for the Aug. 16 Week

S&P 500 down 1% for the week

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Aug 16, 2019
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 25,886.01 on Friday with a gain of 306.62 points or 1.20%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,888.68 for a gain of 41.08 points or 1.44%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,895.99 for a gain of 129.38 points or 1.67%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 18.62 for a loss of 2.56 points or -12.09%.

For the week, the Dow Jones was down 1.5%, the S&P 500 fell 1% and the Nasdaq reported a loss of 0.8%. For the year, the Nasdaq has a gain of 19.0%, the S&P 500 is up 15.2% and the Dow Jones is up 11.0%

Friday’s market movers

A relief rally helped U.S. indexes to close higher Friday after a volatile week. Treasury yields were higher across the longer-term end of the curve. The two-year to 10-year Treasury spread ended at 0.061% Friday, widening from Wednesday’s negative spread scare.

Thursday’s retail sales report and strong earnings reports from Walmart (WMT, Financial) and Nvidia (NVDA, Financial) were also contributors for the day. Retail sales increased by their highest amount since March with a gain of 0.7%. Walmart and Nvidia also led market gains after beating both revenue and earnings estimates Thursday.

Stock gains were still capped by some uncertainty over trade with China. Investors will also be watching Federal Reserve comments closely at next week’s Jackson Hole Symposium.

Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:

  • Housing starts decreased 4% in July following a 1.8% decrease. Building permits increased 8.4% in July following a 5.2% decrease.
  • The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index decreased to 92.1 from 98.4.
  • The Baker Hughes North American oil rig count increased to 1,077 from 1,074.

In the S&P 500, the industrial, technology and materials sectors led gains. In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:

Small-cap stocks

In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,493.42 for a gain of 31.77 points or 2.17%. The S&P 600 closed at 919.62 for a gain of 20.14 points or 2.24%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 9,665.87 for a gain of 185.49 points or 1.96%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 9,043.82 for a gain of 188.19 points or 2.13%.

Other notable indexes

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,873.22 for a gain of 38.06 points or 2.07%; the S&P 100 at 1,275.19 for a gain of 18.36 points or 1.46%; the Nasdaq 100 at 7,604.11 for a gain of 119.22 points or 1.59%; the Russell 3000 at 1,695.92 for a gain of 25.40 points or 1.52%; the Russell 1000 at 1,599.20 for a gain of 23.23 points or 1.47%; the Wilshire 5000 at 29,567.96 for a gain of 440.80 points or 1.51%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 688.79 for a gain of 10.01 points or 1.47%.

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