April 22, 2016: Markets opened mixed Friday with the blue chip index on the right side of the flat line while both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite started the day below the line. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index never got going as Microsoft’s cautious guidance and Google’s earnings miss proved too much to overcome. WTI crude oil for June delivery settled at $43.73 a barrel, up 1.3% for the day and a weekly gain of 8.3% on the most actively-traded contract. June gold dropped 1.6% on the day to settle at $1,230.00, off about 0.4% for the week. Equities were headed for a mixed close shortly before the closing bell as the DJIA traded up 0.09% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.02%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.88%. The DJIA and S&P 500 indexes trade very close to the break-even line with just a few minutes left before the bell, so the closing numbers for either could switch sides at the last moment.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Friday was The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) which traded up 2.24% at $44.64. The stock’s 52-week range is $36.56 to $47.13. Trading volume was about 10% above the daily average of around 15.5 million. The company had no specific news Friday, but recovered nicely from a drop of about 1.75% on Thursday after reporting so-so Q1 results.
The Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) traded up 1.88% at $110.83. The stock’s 52-week range is $95.21 to $118.28. Volume was about 15% below the daily average of around 1.8 million shares traded. The big insurer had no specific news Friday, but like Coke turned a Thursday loss into a decent gain.
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (NYSE: DD) traded up 1.17% at $65.85. The stock’s 52-week range is $47.11 to $75.72. Trading volume was about 35% below the daily average of around 4.1 million. The industrial giant also had no specific news on Friday.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) traded up 1.09% at $50.58. The stock’s 52-week range is $38.06 to $54.49. Volume was about 30% below the daily average of around 16.8 million shares. Like Coke and Travelers, Verizon is making up for Thursday’s sell-off following less-than-hoped for results.
Of the Dow 30 stocks 18 are set to close higher on Friday and 12 are on track to close lower.
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