March 23, 2016: Markets opened lower again on Wednesday and came close to, but never actually traded above, the break-even line. St. Louis Fed president James Bullard said he would like to see policy rates rise and that gave the dollar a boost which added to the woes of oil traders. WTI crude oil for May delivery settled at $39.79 a barrel, down 4% for the day following an inventory build of 9.4 million barrels. April gold fell 2% to settle at $1,224.00 for the day. Equities were headed for a lower close shortly before the closing bell as the DJIA traded down 0.45% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.64%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 1.08%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Wednesday was Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) which traded down 3.86% at $62.40. The stock’s 52-week range is $47.25to $68.19. Trading volume was more than double the daily average of around 11 million. The athletic gear maker got caught in a maelstrom of controversy after reporting earnings that took a hit from the strong dollar and expected tougher competition from Under Armour.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) traded down 2.51% at $73.65. The stock’s 52-week range is $56.36 to $89.62. Trading volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 7.2 million. The company had no news on Wednesday, but moves in oil prices have been driving this stock.
Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) traded down 1.94% at $93.64. The stock’s 52-week range is $69.58 to $112.20. Volume reached about 8 million shares, about 30% below the daily average of around 12 million shares. Crude prices fell below $40 a barrel Wednesday after U.S. inventories reportedly added more than 9 million barrels to the stockpile.
24/7 Wall St.International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) traded down 1.70% at $145.58. The stock’s 52-week range is $116.90 to $176.30. Volume was about 35% below the daily average of around 5.4 million shares traded. The tech company had no specific news Wednesday.
Of the Dow 30 stocks 22 are set to close lower on Wednesday and 8 are on track to close higher.
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