June 17, 2016: Markets opened lower again Friday after a somewhat disappointing report on U.S. housing starts. St. Louis Fed president James Bullard suggested that interest rate hikes may be far less frequent that many investors believed. The healthcare and tech sectors led the losers, while energy and basic materials were higher. WTI crude oil for July delivery settled at $47.98 a barrel, up 3.8% for the day and down 2.2% for the week. August gold slipped 0.3% on the day to settle at $1,294.80, up 1.7% for the week. Equities were headed for a lower close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded down 0.32% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.36%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.95%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Friday was Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) which traded down 2.96% at $55.80. The stock’s 52-week range is $45.69 to $60.07. Volume was about a third higher than the daily average of around 8.5 million shares.The company gave back some of the gains it posted yesterday.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) traded down 2.14% at $95.46. The stock’s 52-week range is $89.47 to $132.97. Volume was about 10% above the daily average of around 38 million shares. The company has been ordered to stop selling iPhones in China.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) traded down 1.60% at $77.10. The stock’s 52-week range is $60.00 to $81.73. Trading volume was about 20% above the daily average of around 7.7 million. The company had no specific news Friday.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) traded down 1.60% at $34.20. The stock’s 52-week range is $28.25 to $36.46. Trading volume was about half the daily average of nearly 40 million shares. The company had no specific news.
Of the Dow 30 stocks 18 are set to close lower Friday and 12 are on track to close higher.
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