March 28, 2014: Markets opened higher on Friday on hopes for more government stimulus to the economies of Japan and Europe. There might also have been some investors looking to pick up shares that have been weaker in the past few days, like technology and consumer goods. In the final minutes of trading the DJIA was up 0.26%, the S&P 500 was up 0.38%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.03%.

Today’s big market mover among the DJIA stocks was Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) which added 2.07% and traded at $40.13 in a 52-week range of $28.11 to $40.99 just ahead of the closing bell. Volume was on track to be roughly equal to the daily average of around 39 million shares traded. Yesterday’s announcement of the availability of Microsoft Office for the iPad continues to give the shares a boost today.

Another big gainer today is Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) which is trading up 1.31% at $97.49 in a 52-week range of $84.79 to $101.74. Crude oil prices are up today and up 2.2% for the week. That’s enough to put a charge into the country’s largest energy firm which got a further boost from natural gas prices which rose about 4% this past week.

In keeping with its recent volatile behavior, Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) bounced higher today, up 1.29% to $22.30 in a 52-week range of $19.98 to $26.49 after bouncing about the same amount lower yesterday. Share volume was about 15% higher than the daily average of around 43.6 million shares traded. Given the shape of the stock’s price curve today, it looks like this could be short covering.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) traded up 1.02% today at $97.14. The company said it would offer free coffee at breakfast time for a two-week period beginning next Monday. Investors apparently like the idea that the company is responding to new competitive breakfast offerings. The 52-week range for the stock is $92.22 to $103.70. Trading volume for the shares was about 25% below the daily average of around 5.3 million shares traded.

The stock doing its best to sink the Dow 30 today was Visa Inc. (NYSE: V). The credit and debit card issuer was hit with a $5 billion lawsuit this morning. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is the first of the big retailers to file its own case for damages related to card swipe fees charged by Visa and other issuers. Visa’s stock traded down 1.91% today at $211.65 in a 52-week range of $161.27 to $235.50. Trading volume was nearly equal to the daily average of around 3.2 million shares traded.

Of the Dow 30 stocks 23 are set to close higher today and 7 are on their way to a lower close.

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