U.S. Market Indexes Mostly Higher as Stocks Continue to Gain

U.S. market indexes closed higher on Tuesday as stocks continued to gain with stable volatility. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 17.95 points or 0.10 percent to 17938.28. The S&P 500 was also higher, closing at 2112.13 for a gain of 2.72 points or 0.13 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 4961.75 for a loss of -6.96 points or -0.14 percent. The VIX Volatility Index was just slightly higher for the day at 14.04 for a gain of 0.39 points.

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

Tuesday’s Market Movers

On Tuesday, the productivity and costs report showed a quarter-over-quarter nonfarm productivity change of -0.6 percent which was at consensus yet still showed weakening in the economy. Unit labor costs on a quarter-over-quarter basis were higher by 4.5 percent which was above consensus of 4.1 percent. The Consumer Credit report showed total consumer credit at $13.4 billion which was below consensus of $18.0 billion.

Stocks trading actively with gains for the day included Chesapeake Energy Corp., Ford Motor Co., General Electric, AT&T, Marathon Oil and Apple.

Valeant reported earnings on Tuesday with further losses. The stock was down -4.18 points or -14.49 percent to $24.67. The company missed estimates for both revenue and earnings and lowered guidance. Revenue for the first quarter was $2.37 billion, a gain of 9.2 percent from the comparable quarter. Earnings per share were $1.27.

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

Chevron Corp 2.13 percent

Verizon Communications 2.05 percent

Exxon Mobil Corp. 1.53 percent

Intel Corp. 0.63 percent

The Home Depot 0.57 percent

Top sectors for the broad market were energy, industrial and technology. In the technology sector the Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 4961.75 for a loss of -6.96 points or -0.14 percent. The Nasdaq 100 was also lower at 4513.09 for a loss of -10.55 points or -0.23 percent.

Stocks leading gains and losses in the Nasdaq 100 included the following:

Gains

Tesla Motors 5.28 percent

Skyworks Solutions 3.87 percent

Western Digital Corp. 3.58 percent

Seagate Technology 3.18 percent

Discovery Communications 2.68 percent

Losses

Yahoo -0.92 percent

TripAdvisor -3.96 percent

Biomarin Pharmaceutical -4.49 percent

Alexion Pharmaceuticals -10.88 percent

Biogen -12.76 percent

In commodities, gold traded lower as evidenced by the SPDR Gold Trust which reported a loss of -0.10 points or -0.08 percent. The dollar was lower for the day as the U.S. Dollar Index was down -0.13 points or -0.14 percent to 93.90.

Small-Cap Stocks

In small-caps, the Russell 2000 was higher for the day closing at 1179.97 for a gain of 3.10 points or 0.26 percent. The S&P 600 closed at 720.15 for a gain of 2.77 points or 0.39 percent. The DJ Small-Cap Growth TSM closed at 7271.24 for a gain of 27.07 points or 0.37 percent. The DJ Small-Cap Value TSM closed at 8447.67 for a gain of 34.62 points or 0.41 percent.

Other Notable Indexes

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index which closed at 1518.74 for a gain of 5.92 points or 0.39 percent; the Russell 3000 closing at 1247.68 for a gain of 1.96 points or 0.16 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index which closed at 602.31 for a gain of 2.00 points or 0.33 percent.