June 16, 2017: Markets opened lower again Friday following Amazon’s announcement that it is acquiring Whole Foods. The news crushed some other grocery store stocks and affected all of them. Federal housing data was lower than expected and consumer sentiment dipped the most since November. WTI crude oil for July delivery settled at $44.74 a barrel, up 0.6% for the day but down more than 2% for the week. August gold added 0.2% for the day to settle at $1,256.50, closing the week down 1.2%. Equities were headed for a mixed close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded up 0.05% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.05%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.25.
The DJIA traded very near the break-even line just minutes before the closing bell. The closing tally could finish with either a small gain or a small loss for any or all of the indexes.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Friday was Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) which traded up 1.68% at $108.11. The stock’s 52-week range is $97.53 to $119.00. Volume was about equal to the daily average of around 5.8 million shares. The company had no specific news Friday.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) traded up 1.54% at $83.53. The stock’s 52-week range is $79.26 to $95.55. Volume was about 20% above the daily average of around 11.5 million. The company announced a final investment decision on a project offshore of Guyana.
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The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Friday was Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) which traded down 4.79% at $75.13. The stock’s 52-week range is $65.28 to $80.47. Volume was more than 6 times the daily average of around 7.8 million shares. The company had no specific news, but the grocery business Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods weighed heavily on the world’s largest retailer.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) traded down 3.54% at $51.03. The stock’s 52-week range is $49.01 to $60.33. Volume was about double the daily average of around 9.9 million shares. The company was downgraded at J.P. Morgan this morning.
Of the Dow stocks, 15 are on track to close higher Friday and 15 are set to close lower.
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