The 4 Stocks That Drove the DJIA Higher on Tuesday

February 16, 2016: Markets opened higher on Tuesday and stocks traded higher all day after posting nice gains last Friday. In Europe, ECB president Mario Draghi continues to say the bank will do its bit to keep the continent’s economy going. Consumer discretionary and the industrial sectors posted the largest percentage gains today. Oil traded higher early in the day following an agreement among four producing nations to freeze (not reduce) production. WTI crude oil for March settled at $29.04, down 1.4% on the day after rising to an early high of $31.53. April gold tumbled 2.5% to settle at $1,208.20 for the day. Equities were headed for a higher close shortly before the closing bell as the DJIA traded up 1.22% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 1.47%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 3.16%.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Monday was The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) which traded up 3.61% at $112.55. The stock’s 52-week range is $102.10 to $158.83. Trading volume was about equal to the daily average of around 5.5 million. The company said today that it plans to raise its production rate from 10 to 12 787 Dreamliners per month beginning this summer. The company also lost its protest of the Air Force contract award to Northrop Grumman for a new long-range bomber.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) traded up 3.11% at $25.89. The stock’s 52-week range is $22.46 to $30.31. Volume was about 20% below the daily average of around 33 million shares traded. The networking giant announced a deal with Pivotal Software to offer each other’s cloud products. EMC Corp. is the majority owner of Pivotal.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) traded up 3.09% at $65.10. The stock’s 52-week range is $56.36 to $89.62. Trading volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 7 million. The heavy equipment maker had no specific news today.

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Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) traded up 2.15% at $57.63. The stock’s 52-week range is $45.72 to $68.19. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 10.7 million shares. The company also had no specific news today.

Of the Dow 30 stocks 27 are set to close higher today and 3 are on track to close lower.