April 4, 2018: The S&P 500 closed up 1.2% at 2,644.67. The DJIA closed up 1.0% at 24,263.54. Separately, the Nasdaq was up 1.5% at 7,042.11.
Wednesday ended up being a positive day for the broad U.S. markets. The major indices started the day out incredibly negative and over the course of the day worked their way up to a strong close. The S&P 500 saw a swing of roughly 75 points on the day, while the Dow had a swing of nearly 800 points. Again, the biggest gain in the session came towards the end of the session. The S&P 500 sectors were entirely positive. The most positive sectors were consumer discretionary, consumer staples, and health care up 2.0%, 1.8%, and 1.7%, respectively. The “worst” performing sector was energy which was up less than 0.1%.
Crude oil was relatively flat at $63.47.
Gold was flat as well at $1,337.10.
The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Wednesday was Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) which traded down about 4% at $128.64. The stock’s 52-week range is $119.02 to $208.83. Volume was about 3.5 million compared to the daily average volume of nearly 1 million.
The stock posting the largest daily percentage gain in the S&P 500 ahead of the close Wednesday was Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) which rose over 10% to $63.10. The stock’s 52-week range is $48.52 to $72.17. Volume was 18.5 million compared to the daily average volume of nearly 5 million.