April 16, 2014: Markets opened higher on Wednesday with shares getting a boost in midmorning from the report on crude oil and gasoline stockpiles. The midafternoon release of the Fed’s Beige Book and a speech by Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen kept the ball rolling right up to the closing bell. A few minutes before trading closes today the DJIA was up 0.88%, the S&P 500 was up 0.93%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.18%.

The Dow’s heaviest heavyweight, Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), added 2.3%, trading at $208.73 a few minutes before closing and leading the index to higher close today. The stock’s 52-week range is $161.27 to $235.50. Share volume was about 20% below the daily average of 3.7 million shares traded.

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3M Inc. (NYSE: MMM) traded at $136.38 today posting a rise of 1.73% shortly before today’s closing bell. The stock’s 52-week range is $102.89 to $140.43. Share volume was about 50% below the daily average of around 3 million shares traded.

Another Dow 30 stock posting a solid gain on Wednesday was United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) which traded up 1.62% at $117.72 in a 52-week range of $90.30 to $120.49. The defense and aerospace company yesterday received certification from Chinese officials for one of its Sikorsky helicopters. Volume was about half the daily average of around 3.8 million shares traded.

Nasdaq 100 component Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) saw its stock traded at $136.31, up 4.14% in a 52-week range of $54.84 to $183.30. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 2.4 million shares traded. The maker of genetic sequencing and array platforms reports earnings next Tuesday and analysts are expecting EPS of $0.45 on revenues of $391.5 million.

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Of the Dow 30 stocks 26 closed higher today and just 4 closed lower.

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