February 18, 2016: Markets opened higher on Thursday, but slipped below the breakeven line shortly afterwards. The DJIA wobbled around break-even for most of the day, while both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite remained in the red. The telecom and utilities sectors were Thursday’s bright spots, while energy led the losers. WTI crude oil for April (the most heavily traded contract now) settled at $32.87 a barrel, down 0.3% on the day. The March contract settled $30.77, up about 0.4%. April gold rose 1.2% to settle at $1,226.30 for the day. Equities were headed for a lower close shortly before the closing bell as the DJIA traded down 0.35% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.58%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 1.10%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Thursday was Wal-Mart Corp. (NYSE: WMT) which traded down 3.18% at $64.00. The stock’s 52-week range is $56.30 to $84.86. Volume was about double the daily average of around 12 million shares traded. The world’s largest retailer reported unimpressive fourth quarter results this morning and forecast more of the same for its new fiscal year..
The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) traded down 2.1% at $147.76. The stock’s 52-week range is $139.05 to $218.77. Trading volume was about 10% above the daily average of around 4.4 million. The company had no specific news today.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) traded down 1.97% at $96.19. The stock’s 52-week range is $92.00 to $134.54. Trading volume was about 25% below the daily average of around 49 million. The tech giant is resisting a warrant from the FBI, and its iPhone sales in the fourth quarter trailed Samsung’s sales.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) traded down 1.76% at $57.74. The stock’s 52-week range is $50.07 to $70.61. Volume was about 25% below the daily average of nearly 20 million shares. The company also had no specific news today, but the financial sector was the second-worst performer of the day, just behind energy.
Of the Dow 30 stocks 21 are set to close lower today and 9 are on track to close higher.
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