January 23, 2015: Markets opened lower on Friday following a strong finish in Asia and higher equities prices in Europe the day after the European Central Bank announced its QE plan. Commodities traded down with crude oil for February delivery hitting an intra-day low of $45.32 a few minutes before the opening bell. Major indexes appeared headed for a mixed close, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq on track to close up and both the DJIA and S&P 50 sinking further in late trading. Shortly before the closing bell the DJIA traded down 0.68% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.49%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.15%.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily loss ahead of the close Friday was Exxon Corp. (NYSE: XOM) which traded down 2.00% at $91.01. The stock’s 52-week range is $86.19 to $104.76. Trading volume is about 25% below the daily average of around 3.2 million shares. The stock took a downgrade from Neutral to Underperform at Credit Suisse, as did peer Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX).

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (NYSE: DD) traded down 1.68% at $73.82. The stock’s 52-week range is $59.35 to $75.82. Trading volume was about 30% below the daily average of around 3.9 million shares. The company had no news today, but industrials was another big loser in Friday trading.

The Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) traded down 1.62% at $90.14. The stock’s 52-week range is $75.26 to $93.89. Trading volume was about 30% below the daily average of around 7.2 million shares. The company had no specific news today, but the consumer goods sector was among the bigger losers in Friday trading.

UnitedHealth Group Inc.) traded lower by 1.49% at $112.15. The stock’s 52-week range is $69.57 to $114.31, a third consecutive new 52-week high and a new all-time high. Trading volume was about 35% above the daily average of around 3.9 million shares. Share prices peaked right after the bell and slipped lower all day, likely due to a combination of profit-taking and weakness in the healthcare sector.

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

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