The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,202.73 on Wednesday with a gain of 240.29 points or 0.93%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,924.43 for a gain of 23.92 points or 0.82%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 8,020.21 for a gain of 71.65 points or 0.90%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 15.83 points for a loss of 1.67 points or 9.54%.
Wednesday's market movers
U.S. indexes rebounded after a lower close Tuesday. Retail earnings were a catalyst for the day. Lowe's (LOW, Financial) beat revenue estimates and beat earnings per share estimates by 15 cents. Target (TGT, Financial) beat revenue estimates and beat earnings per share estimates by 20 cents. Lowe's gained 10.35% for the day and Target gained 20.43%.
Also topping headlines was the Federal Reserve's July meeting minutes. The minutes reinforced the focus on an isolated rate cut in July, while also showing that the Federal Open Market Committee was taking into consideration the full range of variables which could affect the economy and induce more actions.
In Treasuries, yields were mostly higher. On the CME Fed Watch Tool, the probability for another 25 basis point rate cut in September was 98.1%. Investors were also looking to the start of the Jackson Hole Symposium Thursday for more on Fed policy actions and the global economy.
In other news, President Trump said he was no longer looking at more tax cuts. The Congressional Budget Office also released forecasts substantially increasing expectations for the deficit following the recent budget agreement.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The MBA Mortgage Applications Index decreased 0.9% after a 21.7% increase. The MBA's average 30-Year mortgage rate was 3.90%, down from 3.93%.
- Existing home sales increased 2.5% in July following a decrease of 1.3%. In July, the seasonally adjusted annually rate for existing home sales was 5.42 million.
- The EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status report showed crude oil inventory decreasing by 2.732 million.
- The Fed released the July FOMC minutes, reinforcing comments from Fed Chair Powell that the federal funds rate decrease was not part of a long-term descent, but rather an isolated decision.
In the S&P 500, the consumer discretionary and technology sectors led gains. In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:
- Nike (NKE, Financial) 2.54%
- Boeing (BA, Financial) 2.42%
- Cisco (CSCO, Financial) 1.79%
- Home Depot (HD, Financial) 1.60%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,509.86 for a gain of 11.86 points or 0.79%. The S&P 600 closed at 928.11 for a gain of 7.25 points or 0.79%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 9,786.21 for a gain of 86.19 points or 0.89%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 9,074.84 for a gain of 32.04 points or 0.35%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,886.95 for a gain of 10.65 points or 0.57%; the S&P 100 at 1,292.11 for a gain of 11.34 points or 0.89%; the Nasdaq 100 at 7,733.22 for a gain of 68.75 points or 0.90%; the Russell 3000 at 1,716.58 for a gain of 14.11 points or 0.83%; the Russell 1000 at 1,618.81 for a gain of 13.33 points or 0.83%; the Wilshire 5000 at 29,924.31 for a gain of 247.16 points or 0.83%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 696.67 for a gain of 7.11 points or 1.03%.
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