November 17, 2016: Markets opened higher Thursday and the Nasdaq Composite appears to be gaining back even more of the ground it lost last week as tech stocks dropped following the election. Thursday’s top performing sectors were financials and consumer discretionary while real estate and energy lagged. WTI crude oil for December delivery settled at $45.42 a barrel, down 0.3% for the day. December gold dropped 0.6% on the day to settle at $1,216.90. Equities were headed for a higher close before the bell as the DJIA traded up 0.14% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.44%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.70%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Thursday was The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) which traded up 2.94% at $129.02. The stock’s 52-week range is $109.62 to $139.00. Volume was roughly equal to the daily average of around 5.2 million shares. The home improvement giant had no specific news.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) traded up 1.77% at $60.71. The stock’s 52-week range is $48.04 to $61.37. Volume was less than 10% below the daily average of around 27 million shares. Analysts at Goldman Sachs raised the stock’s rating from Neutral to Buy and the price target from $60 to $68 this morning.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) traded up 1.59% at $51.49. The stock’s 52-week range is $49.01 to $68.19. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 9.6 million shares. The company had no specific news Thursday.
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The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) traded up 1.44% at $209.22. The stock’s 52-week range is $138.20 to $211.77. Trading volume was less than 10% below the daily average of around 3 million. The investment bank had no specific news.
Of the Dow 30 stocks 14 are on track to close higher Thursday and 16 are set to close lower.
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