The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 27,147.08 on Wednesday with a gain of 36.28 points or 0.13%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,006.73 for a gain of 1.03 points or 0.03%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 8,177.39 for a loss of 8.62 points or -0.11%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 13.98 for a loss of 0.46 points or -3.19%.
Wednesday’s market movers
Large caps closed mostly higher Wednesday with the Federal Reserve’s rate cut announcement. The Federal Open Market Committee reported it would reduce the federal funds target rate by 25 basis points to 1.75% to 2.00%. The central bank’s move appears to be a proactive step to help prevent recessionary pressures. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the economy is expected to expand at a moderate pace, but global developments and weak inflation signals were two of the top factors influencing the rate cut decision.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The MBA Mortgage Applications Index decreased 0.1% following an increase of 2%. The MBA’s average 30-year mortgage rate increased to 4.01% from 3.82%.
- The New Residential Construction report showed housing starts increasing 12.3% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.364 million. Building permits increased 7.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.419 million.
- The EIA Weekly Petroleum Status report showed crude oil inventory up 1.058 million barrels following a decrease of 6.912 million barrels.
- The FOMC lowered its federal funds target rate by 25 basis points to 1.75% to 2.00%.
In the S&P 500, the financial and utilities 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 1,568.45 for a loss of 9.84 points or -0.62%. The S&P 600 closed at 970.34 for a loss of 6.26 points or -0.64%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 10,015.77 for a loss of 61.36 points or -0.61%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 9,529.09 for a loss of 28.66 points or -0.30%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,953.44 for a loss of 6.05 points or -0.31%; the S&P 100 at 1,328.12 for a gain of 1.00 point or 0.075%; the Nasdaq 100 at 7,888.56 for a loss of 0.23 points or -0.0029%; the Russell 3000 at 1,763.76 for a loss of 0.74 points or -0.042%; the Russell 1000 at 1,662.05 for a loss of 0.0059 points or -0.00035%; the Wilshire 5000 at 30,765.30 for a loss of 7.41 points or -0.024%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 728.79 for a loss of 0.24 points or -0.033%.
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