April 7, 2016: Markets opened lower on Thursday with financials and tech stocks doing the most to keep the DJIA in the red. But every sector contributed, and none seemed interested in closing with a gain. The dollar gained some strength at the expense of crude oil, and new claims for unemployment benefits fell for the week. WTI crude oil for May delivery settled at $37.26 a barrel, down about 1.3% for the day. June gold added 1.1% to settle at $1,236.20 for the day. Equities were headed for a lower close shortly before the closing bell as the DJIA traded down 1.00% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 1.22%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 1.47%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Thursday was The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) traded down 3.16% at $150.29. The stock’s 52-week range is $139.05 to $218.77. Trading volume was about 30% below the daily average of around 5 million. The investment bank was affected by reports on weak first quarter M&A activity.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) traded down 3.08% at $51.87. The stock’s 52-week range is $38.06 to $54.49. Trading volume was about equal to the daily average of around 17.6 million. The telecom giant is said to be putting together a bid for Yahoo.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) traded down 2.53% at $57.32. The stock’s 52-week range is $50.07 to $70.61. Volume was about 25% below the daily average of around 20.8 million shares. The bank’s CEO issued his annual letter today, and it was full of cautionary statements about such things as Morgan’s exposure in China to a possible British exit from the European Union..
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) traded down 2.14% at $108.59. The stock’s 52-week range is $92.00 to $134.54. Volume was about 45% lower than the daily average of around 45 million shares traded. The company’s price target was cut at BTIG Research this morning, from $141 to $130.
Of the Dow 30 stocks 27 are set to close lower on Wednesday and just 3 are on track to close higher.
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