Investing

The 4 Stocks That Kept Markets From Sinking

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April 17, 2014: Markets opened lower on Thursday as traders reacted to weak earnings results from a couple of the tech giants. But strength in other sectors pulled shares up to trade higher through midday, but the DJIA couldn’t hold the gains and markets closed mixed. At the closing bell today today the DJIA was down 0.10%, the S&P 500 was up 0.14%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.23%.

Dow 30 component Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) closed up 1.52% at $123.68 in a 52-week range of $109.27 – 127.83. The country’s second largest integrated oil company had no news, but solid reports on drilling demand in North America likely propped up the shares. Volume was roughly equal to the daily average of 5.7 million shares.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) closed at $74.02 today posting a rise of 1.26%. The stock’s 52-week range is $59.11 – 80.26. Share volume was about 20% below the daily average of around 3 million shares traded. The athletic gear maker signed a contract extension with the U.S. track and field federation this morning.

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Another Dow 30 stock posting a solid gain on Thursday was General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) which closed up 1.68% at $26.56 in a 52-week range of $21.11 – 28.09. The conglomerate reported earnings this morning that were better than expected. Volume was about 80% above the daily average of around 37 million shares traded.

The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) saw its stock close at $127.93, up 1.5% in a 52-week range of $85.75 – 144.57. Volume was about half the daily average of around 5.2 million shares traded. There was no news for the aerospace company, but recent news on industrial production growth has certainly helped the stock..

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) was the Dow’s big loser today, dropping 3.25%, to close at $190.01. The stock’s 52-week range is $172.19 to $211.98. Share volume was about nearly double the daily average of 5.5 million shares traded. IBM is the Dow’s second-most heavily weighted stock and this was a big down for the index today.

Of the Dow 30 stocks 19 closed higher today and 11 closed lower.

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