October 23, 2015: Markets opened higher on Friday following a Thursday evening full of big earnings reports from tech giants Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. Adding to the strong start Friday morning was a new round of monetary easing in China. The dollar index rose sharply and both crude oil and gold finished lower for the day and for the week. WTI crude for December delivery settled down 1.7% for the day and 5.6% for the week at $44.60. Gold settled at $1,162.80, down 0.3% for the day and down 1.7% for the week. Equities were headed for a higher close shortly before the closing bell as the DJIA traded up 0.96% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 1.16%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 2.36%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Friday was Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) which traded up 11.31% at $53.46. The stock’s 52-week range is $39.72 to $54.07, and the high was posted today. Trading volume was more than 3 times the daily average of around 33.6 million. The company posted outstanding earnings after markets closed on Wednesday.

The Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) traded up 3.30% at $77.32. The stock’s 52-week range is $65.02 to $93.89. Trading volume was up about 30% compared with the daily average of around 10.4 million. The consumer products giant posted solid earnings Friday morning.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) traded up 3.05% at $74.71. The stock’s 52-week range is $71.39 to $94.89. Trading volume was about 25% above the daily average of around 6.1 million. The company had no specific news today.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) traded up 3.01% at $118.98 The stock’s 52-week range is $92.00 to $134.54. Trading volume was about 10% below the daily average of nearly 59 million. The company had no specific news today, but dazzling earnings from Amazon, Google, and Microsoft lifted all tech stocks today. Apple reports fiscal fourth quarter results next Tuesday.

Of the Dow 30 stocks 21 are set to close higher today and 9 are on track to close lower.

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