December 28, 2016: Markets opened higher Wednesday but any recovery from Tuesday’s end-of-day selling failed to materialize. Trading reversed course from Tuesday, where every S&P sector showed a gain, to a trading day where every sector posted a loss. Real estate and financials led the downturn. WTI crude oil for February delivery settled at $54.06 a barrel, up about 0.3% on the day. February gold added about 0.2% on the day to settle at $1,141.00. Equities were headed for a lower close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded down 0.52% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.79%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.89%.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Wednesday was Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) which traded down 1.34% at $93.29. The stock’s 52-week range is $56.36 to $97.40. Volume was less than half the daily average of around 5.3 million shares. The company had no specific news Wednesday.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) traded down 1.20% at $36.62. The stock’s 52-week range is $27.68 to $38.36. Volume was about a third of the daily average of around 21 million shares. The semiconductor giant had no specific news.

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (NYSE: DD) traded down 0.90% at $74.29. The stock’s 52-week range is $50.88 to $75.86. Volume was less than half the daily average of around 2.8 million shares. The company had no specific news Wednesday.

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) traded down 0.84% at $59.29. The stock’s 52-week range is $47.97 to $65.46. Volume was less than half the daily average of around 10.9 million shares. The drug maker had no specific news.

Of the Dow 30 stocks, just 2 are on track to close higher Wednesday and 28 are set to close lower.

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