U.S. market indexes were lower Wednesday. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18495.66 for a loss of -37.39 points or -0.20 percent. The S&P 500 was lower, closing at 2175.49 for a loss of -6.25 points or -0.29 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 5204.58 for a loss of -20.90 points or -0.40 percent. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 12.05 for a gain of 0.39 points or 3.34 percent.

Wednesday’s Market Movers

Oil prices were in focus for the day as the Energy Information Administration released its weekly report on oil inventories. The EIA Petroleum Status Report showed a gain of 1.1 million barrels. Oil prices were lower for the day with WTI crude down 3 percent at $41.48 a barrel.

Mortgage applications were higher for the week as reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA Mortgage Applications Report showed a weekly increase of 7.1 percent. Job openings reported by the JOLTS Report were also higher, increasing 2 percent to an annualized rate of 5.624 million.

Stocks trading actively for the day included the following: Bank of America, Chesapeake Energy, Walt Disney, Ford, Apple, KeyCorp, Intel, General Electric and Transocean.

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

Losses (percent)
Exxon Mobil Corp             -1.75
Chevron Corp    -1.16
Nike Inc B            -1.15
Intel Corp            -1.12
American Express Co      -0.99

In the broad market, energy and financial led stocks lower. Technology was also lower after new highs were reported on Tuesday. For the day the following stocks led losses in technology:

Losses (percent)
Western Digital Corp      -4.66
Seagate Technology PLC                -3.42
Mylan NV            -2.26
Biogen Inc           -1.77
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc        -1.73
Liberty Interactive Corp Class A  -1.68
Tesla Motors Inc               -1.5

In commodities, gold traded higher as evidenced by the SPDR Gold Trust which reported a gain of 0.60 points or 0.47 percent. The dollar was lower for the day as the U.S. Dollar Index was down -0.50 points or -0.52 percent at 95.62.

Small-Cap Stocks

In small-caps, the Russell 2000 Index was lower at 1223.27 for a loss of -8.47 points or -0.69 percent. The S&P 600 Small-Cap Index was lower at 742.13 for a loss of -3.73 points or -0.50 percent. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index was lower at 7458.89 for a loss of -43.19 points or -0.58 percent. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index was lower at 8728.01 for a loss of -42.90 points or -0.49 percent.

Other Notable Indexes

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index, closing at 1556.98 for a loss of -5.52 points or -0.35 percent; the S&P 100 Index closing at 963.78 for a loss of -3.15 points or -0.33 percent; the Russell 3000 Index closing at 1285.13 for a loss of -4.17 points or -0.32 percent; the Russell 1000 Index closing at 1205.04 for a loss of -3.55 points or -0.29 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closing at 619.34 for a loss of -0.80 points or -0.13 percent.