The 4 Stocks That Shored Up the Dow

Investing

Published: September 15, 2014 4:01 pm

Last Updated: April 28, 2020 6:20 am

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September 15, 2014: Markets opened slightly lower on Monday after the OECD lowered its U.S. GDP growth forecast. The Empire State manufacturing index rose sharply in September. That rise was offset somewhat by a small drop in industrial production. Tech stocks weighed down the markets all day as did consumer services stocks. The DJIA blue chips posted a gain, while the best the S&P 500 could do was stay about even and the Nasdaq Composite was hit hard. Shortly before the closing bell the DJIA traded up 0.24% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.06%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 1.04%.

The Dow 30 stock posting the biggest percentage gain today was Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) which traded up 1.58% at $29.90 in a 52-week range of $27.87 to $32.96. Analysts at JPMorgan think that tax-advantaged acquisitions are still in the company’s sights. Trading volume was about 25% below the daily average of around 23 million shares.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) traded higher by 1.37% at $124.36 today. The stock’s 52-week range is $109.27 to $135.10. Volume was about 20% below the daily average of around 5.3 million shares. Shares fell early today as markets reacted to an explosion at an offshore natural gas gathering system that killed one worker. The company announced later that supply disruption to the Henry Hub would be minimal.

The Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) traded up 1.22% at $93.53 in a 52-week range of $79.89 to $96.18. Volume was about a third lower than the daily average of 1.8 million shares. There was no news on the company today.

The Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) traded up 0.83% at $83.95 in a 52-week range of $75.20 to $85.82. Trading volume was about 25% below the daily average of 7.5 million shares. The stock had no news today.

Of the Dow 30 stocks 20 stocks are set to close higher today and 10 are on track to close lower.

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