October 25, 2016: Markets opened mixed Tuesday turned south early and spent most of the day trading in the red. Consumer confidence dipped in September. 3M, Caterpillar, and DuPont, all DJIA stocks, were among companies reporting before markets opened this morning, and none gave much reason for optimism. Among S&P’s 11 sectors, only utilities and consumer staples traded higher late in the day. WTI crude oil for December delivery settled at $49.96 a barrel, down 1.1%. December gold jumped 0.9% on the day to settle at $1,273.60, the yellow metal’s best finish in 3 weeks. Equities were headed for a lower close before the bell as the DJIA traded down 0.29% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.39%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.55%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Tuesday was The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) which traded down 3.27% at $123.57. The stock’s 52-week range is $109.62 to $139.00. Volume of about 7.1 million was about 75% above the daily average of around 4.4 million shares. The company had no specific news Tuesday, but weakness in consumer confidence is not good for the home improvement stores.
3M Company (NYSE: MMM) traded down 2.98% at $166.17. The stock’s 52-week range is $134.64 to $182.27. Trading volume was nearly double the daily average of around 1.7 million. The industrials firm reported earnings this morning and chopped its sales forecast as revenues have flattened.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) traded down 1.90% at $84.36. The stock’s 52-week range is $56.36 to $89.87. Volume was more than double the daily average of around 4.3 million shares. The heavy equipment maker reported said its 2017 revenues would be about flat compared with this year’s sales.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) traded down 1.68% at $51.00. The stock’s 52-week range is $50.71 to $68.19, and the low was posted today. Volume was about 40% above the daily average of around 8.9 million shares. The company caught a cold when Under Armour sneezed this morning.
Of the 30 Dow index stocks 13 are on track to close higher Tuesday and 17 are set to close lower.
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