July 31, 2015: Markets opened higher on Friday but only the Nasdaq Composite was able to trade in the green for the whole day. The blue chips were hampered by poor earnings at the biggest oil companies in the U.S. and a falling price for crude oil that settled at around $47.20. Gold fell more in July than in any month in the past two years. Shortly before the closing bell the DJIA traded down 0.33% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.23%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded flat.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Friday was Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) which traded lower by 5.18%% at $88.21. The stock’s 52-week range is $88.01 to $129.53, and the low was posted today. Trading volume was more than double the daily average of around 7.3 million. The company posted a big loss Friday morning and the outlook for oil prices is not improving.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) traded down 4.55% at $79.24. The stock’s 52-week range is $78.93 to $100.43. Trading volume was about double the daily average of around 11 million. Like Chevron, Exxon reported results today and it was not a pretty sight.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) traded down 1.35% at $75.35. The stock’s 52-week range is $48.80 to $76.92. About 5.5 million shares traded hands today, around 25% below the daily average of about 7.1 million. The company had no specific news today.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) traded down 0.82% at $121.36. The stock’s 52-week range is $93.28 to $134.54. Trading volume was was about 25% below the daily average of around 46 million. The company had no specific news today.

Of the Dow 30 stocks 13 are set to close lower today and 17 are on track to close higher.

ALSO READ: The 10 Jobs With the Most Job Security

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.