Goldman, JPMorgan Boost Dow on Thursday

November 10, 2016: Markets opened higher Thursday but the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite soon fell into the red and may not make it out by the end of the trading session. The financial, healthcare, and industrials sectors continue to lead while counter-cyclicals stumble. WTI crude oil for December delivery settled at $44.66 a barrel, down 1.4% for the day. December gold dropped 0.6% on the day to settle at $1,266.40. Equities were headed for a mixed close before the bell as the DJIA traded up 1.22% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.25%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.80%.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Thursday was The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) which traded up 5.37% at $202.98. The stock’s 52-week range is $138.20 to $204.66, a new high posted this afternoon. Volume of about 9.2 million was nearly 4 times the daily average of around 2.6 million shares. Financial stocks received another boost today from Tuesday’s election results.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) traded up 4.67% at $76.66. The stock’s 52-week range is $52.50 to $77.25, and the high was posted today. Trading volume was more than 3 times the daily average of around 14.3 million. The company had no news, but did have the same uplift as Goldman form the election results.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) traded up 4.22% at $33.47. The stock’s 52-week range is $28.25 to $37.39. Volume was more than double the daily average of around 22 million shares. Drug stocks jumped again today on expectations of higher pricing following Tuesday’s elections.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) traded up 3.55% at $160.30. The stock’s 52-week range is $116.90 to $165.00. Volume was nearly double the daily average of around 3.4 million shares. The tech giant’s rating was raised from Neutral to Buy at Merrill Lynch and the price target was lifted from $170 to $185.

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Of the Dow 30 stocks 19 are on track to close higher Thursday and 11 are set to close lower.

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