April 14, 2015: Markets opened higher on again on Tuesday but all three major indexes slipped below the breakeven line soon thereafter. The S&P 500 and the DJIA pulled back into positive trading territory before noon, but the Nasdaq couldn’t make it as biotech and chip stocks traded down all day. Shortly before the closing bell the DJIA traded up 0.39% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.19%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.22%.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Tuesday was Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) which traded up 2.24% at $108.89. The stock’s 52-week range is $98.88 to $135.10. Trading volume was about 35% below the daily average of around 8.2 million shares. Crude oil prices are up more than 2.5% today, always good news for the big oil companies.

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) traded up 1.89% at $57.80. The stock’s 52-week range is $52.49 to $63.62. Trading volume was about 5% above the daily average of around 11 million shares. Merck’s stock got a boost following some bad news for AstraZeneca’s competitor to its Januvia diabetes drug.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) traded up 1.74% at $63.15. The stock’s 52-week range is $52.97 to $63.60, a new 52-week high set earlier this morning. Trading volume was about 70% higher than the daily average of around 17.5 million shares. The company reported better-than expected earnings this morning as trading activity picked up again.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) traded higher by 1.57% at $86.68. The stock’s 52-week range is $82.68 to $104.76. Trading volume was about 15% below the daily average of around 15 million shares. As with fellow supermajor Chevron, the rising price of crude boosted Exxon’s shares today.

Of the Dow 30 stocks 19 are set to close higher today and 11 are on track to close lower.

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