May 29, 2014: Markets opened higher on Thursday following reports that U.S. GDP contracted by 1% in the first quarter and that new claims for jobless benefits fell to 300,000. Pending home sales also came in lower than analysts’ expectation. The mixed data kept trading volume low and gains moderate. Shortly before the closing bell the DJIA traded up 0.33% for the day, the S&P 500 was up 0.50%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.51%.

Today’s big gainer among the Dow 30 was Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) which traded at $57.69, down 2.29% in a 52-week range of $44.62 to $59.84. Share volume was about 30% lower than the daily average of nearly 11 million shares traded. The company had no news today but hopes remain high for a new cancer drug and for approval of a new osteoporosis drug.

Investors appear to be a bit more sanguine about prospects for McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) today. Shares of the fast food traded higher by 0.79% at $101.28 in a 52-week range of $92.22 to $103.78. The company’s shares dropped more than 1% yesterday following an announcement that McDonald’s plans to return $18 to $20 billion to investors over the next three years. Share volume today was around 35% lower than the daily average of about 5 million shares.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) posted a gain of 0.93% today and traded at $79.31 in a 52-week range of $60.95 to $83.32. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 4.7million shares. The company had no news again today, but made a comeback from dropping about 0.7% in Wednesday trading.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) got taken to the woodshed yesterday by Institutional Shareholder Services which slammed the company for its executive pay and its handling of a bribery investigation in Mexico. The world’s largest retailer fired back today and shares rose 0.61% to $75.99 just ahead of the bell. The stock’s 52-week range is $71.51 to $81.37.

Of the Dow 30 stocks 24 looked to close higher today while 5 were on their way to a lower finish and one was set to finish dead flat.

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