US Indexes Close Higher Friday, but Report Consecutive Weekly Losses

S&P 500 down 1.2% for the week

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May 24, 2019
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 25,585.69 on Friday with a gain of 95.22 points or 0.37%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,826.06 for a gain of 3.82 points or 0.14%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,637.01 for a gain of 8.72 points or 0.11%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 15.85 for a loss of 1.07 points or -6.32%.

For the week, the Dow Jones was down 0.7%, the S&P 500 fell 1.2% and the Nasdaq had a loss of 2.3%. Year to date, the Nasdaq has a gain of 15.1%, the S&P 500 has a gain of 12.7% and the Dow Jones has a return of 9.7%.

Friday’s market movers

U.S. market indexes closed higher Friday, but reported weekly losses. The Dow was lower for a fifth consecutive week while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reported their third week of losses. U.S. stocks were helped by reports that the Trump administration may ease up on restrictions for Huawei through a broader China trade deal. Across the market, financials led gains with the S&P 500 financial sector up 0.79%, led by Capital One (COF, Financial), Bank of America (BAC, Financial) and Wells Fargo (WFC, Financial). Target (TGT, Financial) also continued gains following its strong earnings report, up 2.72% on Friday.

In the U.K., Theresa May announced her resignation as British prime minister, opening the role for a new successor. Political speculators believe the job will be taken by someone seeking to negotiate a more substantial breakaway from the European Union.

Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:

  • Durable goods orders were down 2.1% in April. Separately, durable goods orders excluding defense were down 2.5% and durable goods orders excluding transportation were unchanged.
  • The Baker Hughes North American oil rig count increased to 1,061 from 1,050.

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

Small-cap stocks

In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,514.11 for a gain of 12.73 points or 0.85%. The S&P 600 closed at 917.54 for a gain of 8.09 points or 0.89%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index closed at 9,630.10 for a gain of 72.55 points or 0.76%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value Total Stock Market Index closed at 9,360.37 for a gain of 64.36 points or 0.69%.

Other notable indexes

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,862.83 for a gain of 9.26 points or 0.50%; the S&P 100 at 1,250.67 for a gain of 1.36 points or 0.11%; the Russell 3000 at 1,663.36 for a gain of 3.46 points or 0.21%; the Russell 1000 at 1,564.78 for a gain of 2.51 points or 0.16%; the Wilshire 5000 at 29,022.91 for a gain of 58.24 points or 0.20%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 690.88 for a loss of 5.23 points or -0.75%.

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