January 19, 2017: Markets opened slightly higher Thursday as investors appear to be waiting to what President-elect Donald Trump has to say in his inauguration speech on Friday. Only the industrials and telecom sectors posted gains Thursday while real estate and utilities lagged. WTI crude oil for February delivery settled at $51.37 a barrel, up about 0.6% on the day. February gold dropped 0.9% on the day to settle at $1,201.50. Equities were headed for a lower close close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded down 0.43% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.43%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.32%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Thursday was Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) which traded down about 1.94% at $84.61. The stock’s 52-week range is $72.61 to $95.55. Volume was about 15% above the daily average of around 11 million shares. The company had no specific news.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) traded down 1.51% at $60.24. The stock’s 52-week range is $47.97 to $65.46. Volume was nearly 20% lower than the daily average of around 11 million shares. The company had no specific news Thursday.
The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) traded down 1.23% at $231.40. The stock’s 52-week range is $138.20 to $247.77. Volume was about equal to the daily average of around 4.1 million shares. The company had no specific news.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) traded down 1.14% at $31.66. The stock’s 52-week range is $28.25 to $37.39. Volume was about 35% below the daily average of around 27.6 million shares. The company had no specific news Thursday.
Of the Dow 30 stocks, 8 are on track to close higher Thursday and 22 are set to close lower.
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