August 1, 2016: Markets opened nearly flat Monday following a mixed close in Asia which followed mixed economic data from Japan, China, Australia, Korea, and India. The energy sector was down more than 3% this afternoon, the worst sector performance of the day by far; healthcare was the best performing sector Monday. WTI crude oil for September delivery settled at $40.06 a barrel, down 3.7% for the day. December gold closed up 0.2% on the day to settle at $1,359.60. Equities were headed for a mixed close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded down 0.22% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.19%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.39%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Monday was Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) which traded down 3.64% at $85.71. The stock’s 52-week range is $66.55 to $95.55. Volume was about 80% above the daily average of around 10.8 million shares. Tumbling crude oil prices reinforced the message to investors from last Friday’s earnings report: there is no solid good news in the oil business yet.
Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) traded down 3.60% at $98.79. The stock’s 52-week range is $69.58 to $107.58. Volume was about 25% above the daily average of around 6.6 million shares. The other Dow 30 energy stock took a beating Monday as well.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) traded down 1.64% at $54.50. The stock’s 52-week range is $38.06 to $56.95. Trading volume was about equal to the daily average of around 13.2 million. The telecom giant announced a $2.4 billion acquisition this morning.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) traded down 1.04% at $81.90. The stock’s 52-week range is $56.36 to $84.29. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 5.1 million shares. The company had no specific news, but the materials sector traded lower Monday, adding to the pressure on the outlook for sales of heavy equipment.
Of the 30 Dow index stocks 14 are on track to close higher Monday and 16 are set to close lower.
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