August 31, 2016: Markets opened lower Wednesday even though the ADP employment report was better than expected. Every sector started the day’s trading in the red and all 10 are on track to finish the day in the red as well. The energy sector slipped the most, likely due to the large increase in U.S. crude oil inventories. WTI crude oil for October delivery settled at $44.70 a barrel, down 3.6% for the day and down 7.5% for the month. December gold closed down 0.4% on the day to settle at $1,311.40. Gold dropped 3.4% in the month of August. Equities were headed for a lower close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded down by 0.33% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.28%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.15%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Wednesday was Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) which traded down 1.15% at $100.53. The stock’s 52-week range is $74.31 to $107.58. Trading volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 6.5 million. The energy supermajor had no specific news, but the sharp drop in crude prices this morning caused real havoc in the energy sector.
The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) traded down 1.08% at $129.40. The stock’s 52-week range is $102.10 to $150.59. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 3.7 million shares. The company had no specific news Wednesday.
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE: DD) traded down 0.86% at $69.64. The stock’s 52-week range is $47.11 to $75.72. Volume was about 60% below the daily average of around 3 million shares. The proposed merger with Dow Chemical could be in a spot of trouble according to The Street.
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United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) traded down 0.82% at $106.47. The stock’s 52-week range is $83.39 to $109.83. Volume was about 30% below the daily average of around 3.4 million shares. The company had no specific news Wednesday.
Of the 30 Dow index stocks 10 are on track to close higher Wednesday and 20 are set to close lower.
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