The blue-chip index also made notable gains
U.S. stocks logged healthy gains in today's session, with the Nasdaq and S&P surging to all-time highs, while the Dow finished up triple digits. Today's outperformance was highly influenced by strength in tech stocks, with freshly upgraded Netflix (NFLX) having a banner day. In addition, traders cheered Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech in Jackson Hole, with the central banker predicting "further, gradual" rate hikes and calling the U.S. economy "strong." The U.S. dollar took a hit after the speech, helping oil and gold snap weekly losing streaks.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Analysts: Buy these biotech penny stocks.
- History says sell this real estate stock.
- Plus, a banner day for weed stocks; why calls are hot on Autodesk stock; and the diabetes stock attracting bulls.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 25,790.35) picked up 133.4 points, or 0.5%, for the day. DowDuPont (DWDP) led the 23 advancing Dow stocks with a 1.6% gain, while Nike (NKE) paced the seven decliners with a 0.6% drop. The Dow gained 0.5% for the week.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 2,874.69) gained 17.7 points, or 0.6%, and touched an all-time high of 2,876.16. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 7,945.98) saw a gain of 67.5 points, or 0.9%, after marking a record high of 7,949.70. For the week, the indexes rose 0.9%, and 1.7%, respectively.
The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 11.99) fell 0.4 point, or 3.4%. Over the past week, the VIX lost 5%.
5 Items on our Radar Today
- Continuing to bandage its public image, Papa John's (PZZA) has reportedly hired Lazard and Bank of America as financial advisors, just months after the force-out of founder and former CEO John Schnatter. The pizza chain has struggled to regain strength following racist comments from Schnatter. (CNBC)
- Analysts are indicating that department store chain J C Penney (JCP) may be headed down the path to bankruptcy, with the stock dropping more than 25% after earnings last week. The retailer's weak fundamentals have drawn several comparisons to beleaguered Sears (SHLD). (MarketWatch)
- 3 skyrocketing weed stocks blitzed by option bulls.
- Autodesk calls grew hot after an impressive earnings beat.
- Bulls wasted no time jumping on this diabetes stock.
Data courtesy of Trade-Alert
Oil, Gold Snap Weekly Losing Streaks
Oil finished today's session higher, supported by reports of reduced output by U.S.-sanctioned Iran. October crude picked up 89 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $68.72 per barrel for the day, and snapped its seven-week losing streak with a 5.4% weekly gain.
The greenback suffered big losses after Powell's speech, catapulting dollar-denominated gold higher. Gold for December delivery gained $19.30, or 1.6%, to settle at $1,213.30 an ounce on the day -- the best session for a front-month contract since March, per FactSet. For the week, gold rose 2.5%, snapping a six-week losing streak.