January 15, 2016: Markets opened lower on Friday and never for a moment even threatened the break-even line. Both retail sales and the Empire State manufacturing survey posted weak results this morning, and mixed results from two of the nation’s largest banks, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, failed to overcome a downturn in oil prices. WTI crude oil for February delivery traded down 5.7% today to settle at $29.42, down 11.3% for the week and the lowest settlement price since November of 2003. Gold for February delivery traded up 1.6% to settle at $1,090.70 for the day and to close the week down just 0.7%. Equities were headed for a lower close shortly before the closing bell as the DJIA traded down 2.54% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 2.31%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 2.93%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Thursday was Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) which traded down 8.80% at $29.86. The stock’s 52-week range is $24.87 to $37.03 and volume approached 3 times the daily average of around 24 million shares. The chipmaker beat estimates this week, but warned that gross margin would drop to around 58%in the current quarter.
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (NYSE: DD) traded down 5.91% at $54.03. The stock’s 52-week range is $47.11 to $76.59. Trading volume was about 15% below the daily average of around 6.2 million. The company had no specific news today.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) traded down 4.45% at $50.74. The stock’s 52-week range is $39.72 to $56.85. Trading volume was about 30% above the daily average of around 39 million. The company had no specific news today.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) traded down 4.20% at $23.62. The stock’s 52-week range is $23.03 to $33.01. Volume was about double the daily average of around 27 million shares traded. The company had no specific new today.
All 30 Dow stocks are on track to close lower today.
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