Stocks Gain as UK Appears Likely to Stay in European Union
- By Julie Young
U.S. market indexes were higher as an exit from the European Union seemed unlikely for the U.K. in voting on Thursday.
For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18,011.07 for a gain of 230.24 points or 1.29%. The Standard & Poor's 500 was also higher, closing at 2,113.32 for a gain of 27.87 points or 1.34%. The Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 4,910.04 for a gain of 76.72 points or 1.59%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 17.67 for a loss of 3.50 points or 16.53%.
Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Signs with GS. Click here to check it out.
The intrinsic value of GS
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average the following stocks led gains:
Goldman Sachs (GS) 3.05%.
Caterpillar (CAT) 2.34%.
Visa (NYSE:V) 2.22%.
Intel (INTC) 2.17%.
JPMorgan (JPM) 2.14%.
For the day economic indicators were mixed with improvement in the labor market and manufacturing. Jobless claims were lower for the week, down 18,000 from the previous week. The PMI Manufacturing Index gained at 51.4, beating consensus of 51 and up from 50.5 for the previous month. New home sales were slightly lower than expectations, increasing to a level of 551,000 SAAR. Consensus was for 565,000 SAAR, and the previous month showed the annual rate at 586,000 SAAR. The Leading Indicators report showed further economic weakening comprehensively. The monthly Leading Indicators report showed a decrease of -0.2% with a consensus of 0.2%.
Overall, the Brexit vote was the focus of trading for the day. Currencies were especially volatile on Thursday while stocks gained. The dollar was lower against the euro and the pound on Thursday with an exchange rate of 1.1391 per euro and 1.4897 for the pound.
The final voting in the U.K. ended at 5 p.m. (EDT), and the first announcement on voting is expected at 6:30 p.m. (EDT). The final decision from the voting is expected to be released around 2 a.m. (EDT). Markets are expected to gain Friday if the vote does keep the U.K. in the European Union.
In a CNBC report Thursday, market specialist, David Harding discussed his thoughts on market trading and why the U.K. remaining in the European Union is positive for the global economy.
Disclosure: I do not own shares of any stocks mentioned in this article.
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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Signs with GS. Click here to check it out.
The intrinsic value of GS
