January 24, 2014: Markets opened lower on Friday and the tide of red ink flowed freely all day, with every sector trading lower. The DJIA closed down 1.96%, the S&P 500 closed down 2.09%, and the Nasdaq Composite closed down 2.15%.

3M Company (NYSE: MMM)) led the DJIA lower today, down 3.33% for the day. The Dow blue chips may be especially vulnerable to the pullback in enthusiasm for emerging markets. If the emerging countries can’t be counted on for profit, large U.S. multinationals could feel the pain in the next few months. Shares of 3M closed at $130.22 in a 52-week range of $99.58 to $140.43. Volume was about 10% above the daily average of around 2.8 million shares.

Another conglomerate leading the DJIA into the slough of despond today was General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), which also posted a drop of 3.33% to close at $24.96 in a 52-week range of $21.11 to $28.09. Again, uncertainty about the state of emerging markets is the likely villain. Volume was well above double the daily average of about 37 million shares.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) dropped 2.88% on the day, and due to its weight in the DJIA added to the steepness of the decline. The stock trades well below its annual high, and has dropped about $10 in the past 2 days. The 52-week range is $154.14 to $235.50. Trading volume was slightly higher than the daily average of around 3 million shares.

The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) actually got some genuine bad news today. Norwegian Air Shuttle revealed that it is seeking compensation for the flaws that have turned up in the three 787 Dreamliners the company owns. That should be relatively small potatoes for Boeing, but the general market downturn is not a good omen for pricey airplanes. Shares closed down 3.28% at $136.65 in a 52-week range of $73.00 to $144.57. Volume was more than 20% higher than the daily average of around 4.1 million shares traded.

Of the Dow 30 stocks only 3 closed higher today while 27 closed lower.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.