Indexes eke out gains in quiet day
U.S. stock indexes capped another quiet day on Wall Street Wednesday with slight gains, recouping some of the market’s modest losses from a day earlier.
Technology, health care and industrials stocks accounted for much of the gain. A report showing that pending U.S. home sales inched higher last month helped lift homebuilder shares.
Retailers and consumer-goods manufacturers declined the most, following a late-afternoon slide. Energy stocks also fell along with the price of crude oil. Bond yields fell following a report showing U.S. consumer confidence dipped this month.
“Trading is obviously very light, but the market is certainly going out on a high as we head into the end of the year,” said Erik Davidson, chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 2.12 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,682.62. The Dow Jones industrial average added 28.09 points, or 0.1 percent, to 24,774.30. The Nasdaq rose 3.09 points, or 0.04 percent, to 6,939.34. The Russell 2000 index of smallercompany stocks lost 0.29 points, or 0.02 percent, to 1,543.94.
Wednesday was another quiet, post-holiday day for the markets, though a couple of economic reports helped drive some trades.
The National Association of Realtors said signed contracts to buy U.S. homes increased 0.2 percent in November. The report is a barometer of future purchases.
Most homebuilder shares moved higher after the report. LGI Homes led the pack, climbing $2.47, or 3.4 percent, to $75.46.
Separately, the Conference Board said its latest consumer confidence index declined slightly this month, just missing analysts’ forecasts. The decline in the index drove a pickup in bond purchases, sending prices higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slid to 2.41 percent from 2.48 percent late Tuesday.
“This is probably a little bit of an air pocket on light volume in terms of yields, but it is clearly being impacted by the somewhat softer number that we saw out of consumer confidence today,” said Bill Northey, senior vice president at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.
Technology stocks were among the biggest gainers Wednesday. Qorvo was up the most, adding $1.36, or 2.1 percent, to $67.26.
Several health sector stocks also notched gains. Envision Healthcare picked up 82 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $34.56.