U.S. Market Indexes Higher with Continued Housing Gains

U.S. market indexes were higher Tuesday after housing gains helped boost confidence. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 17,706.05 for a gain of 213.12 points or 1.22 percent. The S&P 500 was also higher, closing at 2,076.06 for a gain of 28.02 points or 1.37 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 4,861.06 for a gain of 95.27 points or 2.00 percent. The VIX Volatility Index was lower for the day at 14.42 with a decrease of -8.85 percent. Volatility in the market overall has been decreasing as the market has mostly factored in the chances for a rate hike which most investors are expecting to be in September.

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Source: DJIA, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. Google Finance.

Tuesday’s Market Movers

The New Home Sales Report was the leading factor for the day as the report was significantly above consensus of 523,000 SAAR reaching a level of 619,000 SAAR. The previous month the SAAR was 531,000. The gains in new home sales showed continued confidence in the housing market which has been a main factor for the economy.

Best Buy and AutoZone were the leading stocks actively traded for the day with both reporting earnings. Best Buy’s stocks was down 7.45 percent however earnings per share beat analysts’ expectations at $0.44. The company reported a softer outlook for the remainder of the year and revenue growth was down 1.4 percent from the comparable quarter.

AutoZone reported third quarter earnings per share of $10.77 and revenue was up 4 percent from the comparable quarter. The stock was up 2.47 percent for the day.

In the Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks were mostly higher. The following stocks reported the Index’s top gains:

Microsoft Corp. 3.12 percent

Visa Inc. 2.81 percent

Intel Corp. 2.75 percent

American Express 2.01 percent

Cisco 1.9 percent

For the day, technology and financial sector stocks reported the leading gains. In commodities, gold traded lower as evidenced by the SPDR Gold Trust which reported a loss of 1.73 percent. The dollar was higher for the day as the U.S. Dollar Index was up 0.37 percent to 95.60.

Small-Cap Stocks

In small-caps, the Russell 2000 followed the day’s trend higher closing at 1,135.31 for a gain of 23.94 points or 2.15 percent. The S&P 600 closed at 694.02 for a gain of 14.53 points or 2.14 percent. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 6,957.96 for a gain of 129.95 points or 1.90 percent. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM closed at 8,184.82 for a gain of 137.34 points or 1.71 percent.

Other Notable Indexes

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index which closed at 1,471.49 for a gain of 25.05 points or 1.73 percent; the Russell 3000 which closed at 1,222.90 for a gain of 17.23 points or 1.43 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index which closed at 584.85 for a gain of 6.81 points or 1.18 percent.