Yahoo Finance US Indexes Close Higher Thursday and for the Week
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 23,719.37 on Thursday with a gain of 285.80 points or 1.22%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,789.82 for a gain of 39.84 points or 1.45%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 8,153.58 for a gain of 62.67 points or points or 0.77%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 41.55 for a loss of 1.80 points or 4.15%.
For the week, the Dow Jones gained 12.7%, the S&P 500 gained 12.1% and the Nasdaq gained 10.6%. For the year, the Dow Jones has a loss of 16.89%, the S&P 500 is down 13.65% and the Nasdaq has a return of 9.13%.
Thursday's market movers
U.S. indexes closed higher Thursday, ending the shortened holiday week. Coronavirus cases increased to approximately 430,000. The infection curve showed some flattening across the U.S. and in several states. A few countries in Europe began plans for reopening.
In the S&P 500, financials and real estate led gains. The S&P 500 energy sector ended the day with a loss of 0.91%, giving back some of the gains leading up to a virtual OPEC+ meeting Thursday. Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to a preliminary deal to make some production cuts.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he expects a strong recovery after the coronavirus pandemic. Powell provided comments along with the Fed's outline for a $2.3 trillion loan program, which includes several focused lending facilities, with some funding newly announced on Thursday.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
Around 6.606 million people applied for unemployment, following claims of 6.867 million in the previous week. Continuing jobless claims increased to 7.455 million from 3.059 million. .
The Producer Price Index (PPI) decreased 0.2% in March. Year over year the PPI increased 0.7%.
The Core PPI increased 0.2% in March. Year over year, the Core PPI increased 1.4%.
The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index decreased to 71.0 in April from 89.1.
Wholesale inventories decreased 0.7% in February.
The Treasury held auctions for four-week bills at a rate of 0.19% and eight-week bills at a rate of 0.290%. The 10-year Treasury yield closed at 0.729%.
Freddie Mac released its weekly mortgage market report. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.33%, with no change from the previous week. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.77%, down from 2.82%.
In the S&P 100, the following stocks led gains:
American International Group (NYSE:AIG) 9.99%
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) 9.64%
JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) 9.12%
Citigroup (NYSE:C) 7.56%
Ford (NYSE:F) 7.06%
U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) 6.73%
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) 6.27%
Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) 5.98%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,245.78 for a gain of 54.11 points or 4.54%. The S&P 600 closed at 743.23 for a gain of 36.15 points or 5.11%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 8,305.94 for a gain of 292.12 points or 3.65%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 6,506.21 for a gain of 372.17 points or 6.07%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,586.37 for a gain of 50.86 points or 3.31%; the S&P 100 at 1,271.20 for a gain of 12.75 points or 1.01%; the Nasdaq 100 at 8,238.53 for a gain of 8.99 points or 0.11%; the Russell 3000 at 1,609.07 for a gain of 27.93 points or 1.77%; the Russell 1000 at 1,530.05 for a gain of 24.05 points or 1.60%; the Wilshire 5000 at 28,105.35 for a gain of 479.69 points or 1.74%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 580.72 for a gain of 18.28 points or 3.25%.
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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
