February 9, 2016: Markets opened lower again on Tuesday but after bouncing around for most of the day equities seem destined for a positive close. Basic materials have added more than 1%, likely on strength in gold mining stocks. The flight from risk was strong both in Asia and Europe before U.S. markets opened this morning. Energy was again the big loser today, down more than 2%. WTI crude oil for March settled at $27.94, down 5.9% today. April gold added 0.1% to settle at $1,198.60 for the day. Equities were headed for a modestly lower close shortly before the closing bell as the DJIA traded down 0.05% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.02%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.25%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Tuesday was The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) which traded up 1.62% at $43.34. The stock’s 52-week range is $36.56 to $43.91. Volume was 30% higher than the daily average of around 14 million shares traded. The soft-drinks maker reported earnings today that were a bit better than expected.
The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) traded up 1.59% at $113.63. The stock’s 52-week range is $92.17 to $135.47. Volume was about equal to the daily average of around 6.2 million shares. The home improvement giant had no specific news today.
Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) traded down 3.56% at $82.93. The stock’s 52-week range is $69.58 to $112.93. Trading volume was about 10% below the daily average of around 12 million. The oil supermajor had no specific news today, but tumbled on the falling price of crude.
[recirclink id=313612]
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) traded down 2.45% at $123.87. The stock’s 52-week range is $118.00 to $176.30. Trading volume was about equal to the daily average of around 5.1 million. The tech giant had no specific news today.
Of the Dow 30 stocks 19 are set to close higher today and 11 are on track to close lower.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks