The 4 Stocks That Boosted the DJIA on Thursday

By Paul Ausick Updated Apr 28, 6:00AM EDT · Published Mar 3, 4:01PM EST

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March 3, 2016: Markets opened lower on Thursday as the dollar sank against the euro after a weak report on factory orders and a slowdown in the ISM services index. The healthcare and tech sectors held today’s gains down, while all other sectors added at least 0.2%. WTI crude oil for April delivery settled at $34.57 a barrel, down about 0.3% on the day. April gold rose 1.3% to settle at $1,258.20 for the day. Tomorrow morning the labor department releases the monthly employment report, always a closely watched number. Equities were headed for a slightly higher close shortly before the closing bell as the DJIA traded up 0.23% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.32%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.06%. Volume was on the light side again today.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Thursday was Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) which traded up 3.42% at $71.75. The stock’s 52-week range is $56.36 to $89.62. Trading volume was about 15% below the daily average of around 7.2 million. The heavy equipment maker had no specific news today, but rival Joy Global offered a better second-half forecast and cheered investors today.

The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) traded up 1.76% at $98.71. The stock’s 52-week range is $86.25 to $122.08. Trading volume was about 30% below the daily average of around 10.8 million. The company got a boost from its announcement today that it will build 2 more cruise ships.

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American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) traded up 1.61% at $58.04. The stock’s 52-week range is $50.27 to $83.54. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 8.7 million shares traded. The credit card issuer had no specific news today.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) traded up 1.10% at $137.80. The stock’s 52-week range is $116.90 to $176.30. Volume was about 20% below the daily average of around 5.4 million shares. The company said had no specific news today.

Of the Dow 30 stocks 16 are set to close higher today and 14 are on track to close lower.

About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.