May 1, 2014: Markets opened mixed on Thursday as only the Nasdaq managed a positive showing at the start. None of the indexes moved very far from the break-even line all day following a weak report on claims for jobless benefits and mixed earnings results. Shortly before the closing bell the DJIA traded down 0.23%, the S&P 500 was down 0.17%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.11%.

Leading the slide in the DJIA was International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) which traded down 1.47% at $193.58. The stock’s 52-week range is $172.19 to $211.98. Share volume was about 20% below the daily average of around 5.3 million shares traded. There was no news on Big Blue today, but the blue chips were definitely out of favor.

United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) traded down 1.42% at $116.62 in a 52-week range of $90.30 to $120.66. Volume was about 30% lower than the daily average of around 3.5 million shares. Again there was no news on the firm today, but the stock had gained about 1% in the first three days of this week.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) traded at $101.23 today, posting a drop of 1.14%. The stock’s 52-week range is $84.79 to $102.57, and the high was set today, before the selling started. Share volume was about 30% below the daily average of around 12.2 million shares traded. Exxon reported mixed first quarter results before markets open this morning.

ALSO READ: America’s Most (and Least) Common Jobs

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) traded down 1.01% today at $39.99 in a 52-week range of $30.84 to $41.66. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of more than 36 million shares. The company launched its mobile ad network today. Microsoft acquired high-performance cloud-computing company GreenButton today.

Of the Dow 30 stocks only 7 looked to close higher today while 23 were on their way to a lower finish.

ALSO READ: The 15 Highest-Paying Companies in America

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