The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 24,947.67 on Thursday with a loss of 79.40 points or -0.32%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,695.95 with a loss of 4.11 points or -0.15%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,188.26 with a gain of 29.83 points or 0.42%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 21.05 for a gain of 0.31 points or 1.49%.
Thursday’s market movers
Stocks closed lower Thursday with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 posting a second consecutive closing loss. Markets were closed Wednesday in honor of President Bush.
Stocks opened lower following the arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer in the tech sector. Investors continued to show concern over an inverting yield curve and oil prices were also lower. Skepticism on the likelihood of a completed trade deal without further tariffs also kept stocks down. As a result, indexes continued their selloff into a second day, but the Nasdaq rebounded near the end of the day to close slightly higher.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The Fed’s Beige Book report showed the majority of the Federal Reserve Districts with modest or moderate economic growth from mid-October through late November.
- The ADP November Employment Report showed an increase of 179,000 jobs in the private sector.
- The balance of trade was reported as a deficit of -$55.5 billion in October.
- Jobless claims decreased to 231,000 from 235,000.
- Nonfarm productivity increased 2.3% in the third quarter.
- The Markit Composite PMI decreased to 54.7 in November from 54.9.
- The Markit Services PMI decreased to 54.7 in November from 54.8.
- Factory orders decreased 2.1% in October.
- The ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI increased to 60.7 in November from 60.3.
- Mortgage rates were lower according to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage market survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.75%, decreasing six basis points. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.21%, decreasing four basis points.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led losses:
- Boeing (BA, Financial) -3.36%
- JPMorgan (JPM, Financial) -1.84%
- Exxon Mobil (XOM, Financial) -1.55%
- DowDuPont (DWDP, Financial) -1.19%
- Apple (AAPL, Financial) -1.19%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,475.28 for a loss of 5.47 points or -0.37%. The S&P 600 closed at 922.43 for a loss of 2.63 points or -0.28%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 9,217.09 for a loss of 22.04 points or -0.24%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9,427.44 for a gain of 4.73 points or 0.05%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,815.41 for a loss of 11.21 points or -0.61%; the S&P 100 at 1,194.82 for a loss of 2.66 points or -0.22%; the Russell 3000 at 1,585.53 for a loss of 3.55 points or -0.22%; the Russell 1000 at 1,489.08 for a loss of 3.21 points or -0.22%; the Wilshire 5000 at 27,775.78 for a loss of 21.14 points or -0.08%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 685.37 for a loss of -3.65 points or -0.53%.
