May 14, 2015: Markets opened higher on Thursday on strength in the tech sector. Consumer discretionary stocks have overcome some poor earnings reports to post a gain as well today. Shortly before the closing bell the DJIA traded up 0.98% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 1.00%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 1.30%.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Thursday was Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) which traded up 2.22%% at $48.68. The stock’s 52-week range is $39.27 to $50.05. Trading volume was about 35% below the daily average of around 37.7 million shares. The company released another preview of Windows 10 Mobile.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) traded higher by 2.18% at $128.76. The stock’s 52-week range is $83.63 to $134.54. Trading volume was about 25% below the daily average of around 51.7 million shares. A UBS analyst has said that iPhone sales numbers for the second quarter will be much higher than current estimates.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) traded up 2.14% at $118.34. The stock’s 52-week range is $76.01 to $123.76. Trading volume was about even with the daily average of around 3.9 million shares. The company’s Optum division said today that it has finished its work on healthcare.gov.

The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) traded up 1.65% at $148.02. The stock’s 52-week range is $116.32 to $158.83. Trading volume was about 33% below the daily average of around 4.2 million shares. The company finalized an order for one 787-9 today and added an option on another.

Of the Dow 30 stocks 29 are set to close higher today and just 1 (Cisco Systems) is on track to close lower.

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