US Market Indexes Continue Gains, Dow Closes at New High

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- By Julie Young

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,656.98 on Thursday for a gain of 251.22 points or 0.95%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,930.75 for a gain of 22.80 points or 0.78%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 8,028.23 for a gain of 78.19 points or 0.98%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 11.89 for a gain of 0.14 points or 1.19%.

Thursday's market movers


The Dow Jones closed with its first new high since January as U.S. equities have been weighing the effects of global trade changes throughout 2018. Consumer staples and technology stocks led gains across the market Thursday with all of the leading indexes reporting gains.

Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:

  • Jobless claims decreased by -3,000 to 201,000.

  • Existing home sales decreased -1.5% annually, reporting a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.340 million.

  • The Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased 0.4%.

  • The Federal Reserve's weekly balance sheet report showed an increase in assets of $2.3 billion for total assets of $4.211 trillion.

  • Mortgage rates increased, according to Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage market survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average increased to 4.65% from 4.60%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage average increased to 4.11% from 4.06%.



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

  • Intel (INTC) 2.28%

  • Caterpillar (CAT) 2.12%

  • DowDuPont (DWDP) 1.91%



Small-cap stocks

In small-caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,720.18 for a gain of 17.25 points or 1.01%. The S&P 600 closed at 1,079.92 for a gain of 9.62 points or 0.90%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 10,745.06 for a gain of 87.31 points or 0.82%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 10,648.15 for a gain of 107.84 points or 1.02%.

Other notable indexes

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,045.20 for a gain of 14.94 points or 0.74%; the S&P 100 at 1,299.40 for a gain of 11.25 points or 0.87%; the Russell 3000 at 1,737.97 for a gain of 13.58 points or 0.79%; the Russell 1000 at 1,624.28 for a gain of 12.40 points or 0.77%; the Wilshire 5000 at 30,462.29 for a gain of 229.94 points or 0.76%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 724.25 for a gain of 2.54 points or 0.35%.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


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