August 25, 2014: Markets opened higher on Monday, and the S&P pushed above the 2,000 mark for the first time ever about an hour after trading opened this morning. All market sectors are headed for a higher close today, led by the oil & gas stocks which are up more than 1%. Shortly before closing today the DJIA traded up 0.49% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.51%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.45%.

The Dow 30 stock posting the biggest percentage loss today was JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) which traded up 1.64% at $59.45 in a 52-week range of $50.06 to $61.48. The big bank had no news today. JPMorgan’s volume was about 8% below the daily average of around 13 million shares.

Another financial stock that did well on Monday was The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) which traded up 1.58% at $178.31 in a 52-week range of $151.33 to $181.13. Volume was about 10% above the daily average of around 2.3 million shares traded. The company said it had settled a suit over mortgage-bond sales to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac prior to the financial crisis.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) traded higher by 1.01% at $80.09 today. The stock’s 52-week range is $62.60 to $80.30, a new 52-week high. Volume was about 25% below the daily average of around 3.2 million shares traded. The athletic gear company had no news today.

Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) traded up 1.01% at $59.77. The stock’s 52-week range is $44.62 to $59.87, and the high was set this morning. Share volume was about half the daily average of around 8.2 million shares traded. The company’s PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab is being included in a study of treatments for advanced prostate cancer by conducted by Advaxis Inc.

Of the Dow 30 stocks 24 are set to close higher today and just 6 are poised to close lower.

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