Dow Jones Industrial Average Wraps Up Best Quarter of 2016
The DJIA ended the month in negative territory, but logged an impressive quarterly gain
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) jumped higher at the open and never looked back, after dropping nearly 200 points on Thursday. Bank stocks were among the biggest gainers -- following the lead of Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB), which won back all of this week's losses on reports of a lower-than-expected settlement with U.S. regulators. Energy stocks also continued to climb, with enthusiasm over a potential production-cut agreement between Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC members still boosting crude oil. And while the Dow wrapped up September with a monthly loss, it -- as well as the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) -- logged the best quarterly gain of the year.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA - 18,308.15) added 164.7 points, or 0.9%, with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) leading 29 of the 30 Dow components higher on a 2% gain. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was the lone loser, dropping 0.3%. For the week, the DJIA climbed 0.3%, but on the monthly basis the index gave up 0.5%. Still, the Dow ended the third quarter up 2.1%.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 2,168.27) gained 17.1 points, or 0.8%, bringing its weekly win to 0.2%. The SPX slipped 0.1% for the month, but added 3.3% for the quarter. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 5,312.00) climbed 42.9 points, or 0.8%, on the day, and 0.1% this week. Longer-term, the tech-heavy index vastly outperformed its peers, tacking on 1.9% in September and 9.7% in the third quarter.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX - 13.29) dropped 0.7 point, or 5.2%, paring its weekly lead to 8.1%. For the month, the VIX slipped 1%, and for the quarter the market's "fear gauge" gave back 15%.
5 Items on Our Radar Today
Cloud specialist Nutanix Inc (NASDAQ:NTNX) had an incredible first day of public trading, surging 131% above its $16 IPO price to close at $37. These first-day gains even blew past fellow tech stock Twilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO), which added 90.9% in its inaugural trading debut in late June, and has since more than doubled from its first-day close. (CNBC)New York's iconic Carnegie Deli will close its doors at the end of this year, after nearly 80 years in business. The deli's owner informed its roughly 60 employees this morning that the store will be closing, though two locations outside of the state will remain open, and some products will still be available through wholesale distribution. (USA Today)3 key levels to watch on this outperforming casino stock.Fresh record highs sparked bullish betting on NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA).Why this slipping biotech stock could still be on track for an impressive second half.
Data courtesy of Trade-Alert
Commodities:
Oil prices spent the day largely in positive territory, amid continued optimism toward an agreement among global crude producers to curb output. At the close, the November contract for crude oil was up 41 cents, or 0.9%, at $48.24 per barrel. Crude climbed 8.5% for the week, and 7.9% for the month of September. For the quarter, though, black gold lost 0.2% -- its first quarterly loss of the year.
Gold prices slipped, as traders rushed toward riskier assets, with December-dated gold giving up $8.90, or 0.7%, to close at $1,317,10 per ounce. Gold dropped 1.8% on a weekly basis, but gained 0.4% month-over-month. For the third quarter, the malleable metal gave back 0.3% to log its first quarterly drop in 2016.
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