December 21, 2016: Markets opened mixed Wednesday and the consensus opinion seems to be that traders are pausing to think about whether they really want the DJIA to top 20,000. It’s really just a matter of time so if you haven’t already done so, get an office pool going. Leading sectors included energy and materials; laggards were healthcare and real estate. WTI crude oil for February delivery settled at $52.49 a barrel, down about 1.5% on the day. February gold dropped less than 0.1% on the day to settle at $1,133.20. Equities were headed for a lower close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded down 0.08% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.19%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.17%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Wednesday was Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) which traded down 1.66% at $59.49. The stock’s 52-week range is $47.97 to $65.46. Volume was about 10% below the daily average of around 10.8 million shares. The company had no specific news Wednesday.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) traded down 1.30% at $32.42. The stock’s 52-week range is $28.25 to $37.39. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 26.5 million shares. The company had no specific news.
The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) traded down 0.63% at $241.57. The stock’s 52-week range is $138.20 to $245.57. Volume was about 30% below the daily average of around 3.9 million shares. The bank was fined $120 million by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission for manipulating interest rate products from 2007 to 2012.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) traded down 0.52% at $37.01. The stock’s 52-week range is $27.68 to $38.36. Volume was about 55% below the daily average of around 21.5 million shares. The semiconductor giant had no specific news.
Of the Dow 30 stocks, 9 are on track to close higher Wednesday and 22 are set to close lower.
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