January 20, 2016: Markets opened lower on Wednesday, and at one point the DJIA traded off by 500 points from Tuesday’s close. The culprit, alas, was crude oil although it received help from falling prices for utilities, financials, and consumer goods. China failed to inject some form of stimulus into its economy, and that got Wednesday trading off on the wrong foot. The WTI crude oil for February expired today, settling at $26.55, down 6.7% on the day. The March contract settled at $28.35, down 4.1% for the day. Gold for February delivery traded up about 1.6% to settle at $1,106.20 for the day, a two-week high. Equities were headed for a lower close shortly before the closing bell as the DJIA traded down 1.42% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 1.06%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.05%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Wednesday was International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) which traded down 4.58% at $122.24. The stock’s 52-week range is $118.00 to $176.30, and the low was posted early today. Volume rose to nearly 3 times the daily average of around 5 million shares. The high-tech pioneer reported soft results last night and the shares hit a 5-year low today.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) traded down 3.88% at $22.92. The stock’s 52-week range is $22.47 to $30.31, and the low was posted earlier this afternoon. Trading volume was more than two and a half times the daily average of around 28 million. The company had no specific news today.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) traded down 3.82% at $73.48. The stock’s 52-week range is $66.55 to $93.45. Trading volume was about 90% above the daily average of around 16 million. The company had no specific news today, but the massive drop in crude prices hit the supermajor hard.
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The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) traded down 2.75% at $122.57. The stock’s 52-week range is $115.14 to $158.83. Volume was about 80% higher than the daily average of around 3.7 million shares traded. The company had no specific news today.
Of the Dow 30 stocks 24 are set to close lower today and 6 are on track to close higher.
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