US Market Indexes Close Higher Friday With Improved Outlook on China Trade

- By Julie Young

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 25,669.32 on Friday with a gain of 110.59 points or 0.43%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,850.13 for a gain of 9.44 points or 0.33%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,816.33 for a gain of 9.81 points or 0.13%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 12.60 for a loss of -0.85 points or -6.32%.

For the week, the Dow Jones gained 1.4%, the S&P 500 gained 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite was down -0.3%.

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• CAT 15-Year Financial Data

• The intrinsic value of CAT

• Peter Lynch Chart of CAT

Year to date, the Dow Jones has a gain of 4.83%, the S&P 500 is up 7.35% and the Nasdaq Composite has a return of 13.52%.

Friday's market movers

U.S. market indexes reported gains on Friday after news that the U.S. and China will plan to negotiate and resolve their trade issues by November. Sectors leading gains for the day included real estate, consumer staples, materials and industrials.

Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:

• The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index decreased to 95.3 from 97.9.

• E-commerce retail sales reported a seasonally adjusted annual growth rate of 3.9%.

• The Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased 0.6% in July.

• The Baker Hughes rig count increased to 1,269 from 1,266.

In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:

• Caterpillar (CAT) 2.26%

• Apple (AAPL) 1.91%

• Pfizer (PFE) 1.62%

Small-cap stocks

In small-caps, the Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,692.95 for a gain of 7.19 points or 0.43%. The S&P 600 closed at 1,072.59 for a gain of 6.39 points or 0.60%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 10,503.57 for a gain of 49.37 points or 0.47%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 10,637.38 for a gain of 49.21 points or 0.46%.

Other notable indexes

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,010.19 for a gain of 9.85 points or 0.49%; the S&P 100 at 1,262.32 for a gain of 3.57 points or 0.28%; the Russell 3000 at 1,692.63 for a gain of 5.70 points or 0.34%; the Russell 1000 at 1,580.55 for a gain of 5.20 points or 0.33%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 723.53 for a gain of 4.16 points or 0.58%.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 2 Warning Signs with CAT. Click here to check it out.

• CAT 15-Year Financial Data

• The intrinsic value of CAT

• Peter Lynch Chart of CAT