February 24, 2016: Markets opened lower on again on Wednesday on weaker oil prices and weaker reports on U.S. housing. Mortgage applications were down and new home sales came in well short of estimates. Oil prices recovered after the EIA reported an in-line increase in crude inventories, but financials held down the gains. Equities pulled above the break-even line in the late afternoon. WTI crude oil for April delivery settled at $31.87 a barrel, down about 4.6% on the day. April gold added 1% to settle at $1,222.20 for the day. Equities were headed for a slightly higher close about half an hour before the closing bell as the DJIA traded up 0.35% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.48%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.86%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Wednesday was United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) which traded up 2.13% at $93.55. The stock’s 52-week range is $83.39 to $124.33. Trading volume was nearly double the daily average of around 6.7 million. The industrial giant is getting a boost from its statement that a merger with Honeywell is no longer on the table. Honeywell has taken a different view of the potential deal.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) traded up 1.53% at $29.24. The stock’s 52-week range is $24.87 to $35.59. Volume was about 35% below the daily average of around 25.5 million shares traded. The company had no specific news today, but the tech sector was one of today’s bright spots.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) traded up 1.29% at $95.91. The stock’s 52-week range is $92.00 to $134.54. Trading volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 49 million. The company had no specific news today.
3M Company (NYSE: MMM) traded up 0.86% at $157.82. The stock’s 52-week range is $134.00 to $170.50. Volume was about 50% below the daily average of around 2.9 million shares. The company also had no specific news today.
Of the Dow 30 stocks 23 are set to close higher today and 7 are on track to close lower.
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