November 18, 2015: Markets opened higher on Wednesday led by energy stocks that opened the day on a high note following a somewhat bullish report on Tuesday evening regarding the U.S. crude oil inventory. The sector slipped after the official EIA report was released, but equities got a bump higher from the FOMC minutes that appears to be lasting until the closing bell. WTI crude for December delivery added a small gain today to settle at $40.75 per barrel after dropping below $40 a barrel for a short time. Gold rose 0.3% to settle at $1,071.50. Equities were headed for a higher close shortly before the closing bell as the DJIA traded up 1.32% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 1.54%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 1.72%.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Wednesday was Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) which traded up 3.05% at $117.15. The stock’s 52-week range is $92.00 to $134.54. Trading volume was about 20% below the daily average of about 56 million. The company was added to the Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy list this morning.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) traded up 2.50% at $117.25. The stock’s 52-week range is $95.00 to $126.21. Trading volume was less than half the daily average of around 4.5 million. The company had no specific news today.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) traded up 2.49% at $125.63. The stock’s 52-week range is $90.69 to $133.52. Volume was about equal to the daily average of 4.6 million shares traded. The company had no specific news today.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) traded up 1.97% at $67.43. The stock’s 52-week range is $50.07 to $70.61. Trading volume was about 40% below the daily average of about 17 million. The big bank had no specific news today, but an increase in interest rates will certainly be welcomed by executives and shareholders.

All 30 DJIA stocks are on track to close higher on Wednesday.

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