U.S. market indexes were higher Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher at 17,851.51 for a gain of 145.46 points or 0.82 percent. The S&P 500 was also higher at 2,090.54 for a gain of 14.48 points or 0.70 percent. The Nasdaq Composite was higher for the day at 4894.89 for a gain of 33.84 points or 0.70 percent. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 13.88 for a loss of -0.54 points or -3.74 percent. The market has increasingly been reporting less volatility as investors have mostly factored in a slower economic direction and rate increases from the Federal Reserve.

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

Wednesday’s Market Movers

Leading economic indicators for the day included mortgage applications up 2.3 percent and a home price increase of 0.7 percent from the FHFA Price Index which was above consensus. Mortgage applications gained slightly as the pace of Federal Reserve rate increases seems to be slowing. The International Trade in Goods Report showed the international trade deficit widening and the EIA Petroleum Status Report showed oil inventories higher.

Costco and HP were both higher for the day with earnings reports after the bell. Costco gained 1.38 percent and HP gained 2.43 percent. Other stocks actively traded included Bank of America, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Apple, Yahoo, General Electric, Cisco and Ford.

In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led the index higher:

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. 2.34 percent

International Business Machines Corp. 2.24 percent

Caterpillar 2.08 percent

Apple 1.76 percent

Merck 1.71 percent

Top sectors overall for the broad market on Wednesday were energy and materials. In commodities, gold traded lower as evidenced by the SPDR Gold Trust which reported a loss of -0.27 percent. The dollar was lower for the day as the U.S. Dollar Index was down -0.19 percent to 95.41.

In technology, the Nasdaq Composite was higher for the day at 4894.89 for a gain of 33.84 points or 0.70 percent. The Nasdaq 100 was also higher closing at 4476.43 for a gain of 32.14 points or 0.72 percent. Stocks gaining in the technology sector included:

Western Digital 4.42 percent

Seagate Technology 2.87 percent

Biogen 2.48 percent

Small-Cap Stocks

In small-caps, the Russell 2000 was higher at 1141.02 for a gain of 5.72 points or 0.50 percent. The S&P 600 closed at 697.88 for a gain of 3.86 points or 0.56 percent. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 7006.91 for a gain of 48.95 points or 0.70 percent. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM closed at 8232.17 for a gain of 47.35 points or 0.58 percent.

Other Notable Indexes

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index which closed at 1481.20 for a gain of 9.71 points or 0.66 percent; the Russell 3000 which closed at 1231.34 for a gain of 8.44 points or 0.69 percent; the Russell 1000 which closed at 1157.12 for a gain of 8.11 points or 0.71 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index which closed at 587.68 for a loss of -2.94 points or -0.50 percent.