June 30, 2017: Markets opened higher Friday on the last day of the second quarter following some good earnings news from a DJIA component and some decent, if not thrilling, economic news. Every S&P sector was trading in the green late in the afternoon, with industrials, materials, and energy leading the pack. WTI crude oil for August delivery settled at $46.04 a barrel, up 2.5% on the day but down 14% for the first half of the year. August gold dropped 0.3% on the day to settle at $1,242.30 but up about 7.9% for the first half of 2017. Equities were headed for a higher close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded up 0.55% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.48%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.24%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Friday was Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) which traded up 10.96% at $59.00. The stock’s 52-week range is $49.01 to $60.33. Volume was about 4 times the daily average of around 11.2 million. As noted, the athletic gear maker posted strong quarterly results on Thursday evening.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) traded up 2.11% at $107.87. The stock’s 52-week range is $73.46 to $108.18. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 5 million shares. The company had no specific news.
American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) traded up 1.03% at $84.50. The stock’s 52-week range is $58.25 to $85.39. Volume was about 30% below the daily average of around 3.5 million shares. The company had no specific news Friday, but could still be getting a boost from a dividend hike and a $4.4 billion stock buyback announced earlier this week.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) traded up 0.95% at $33.86. The stock’s 52-week range is $32.38 to $38.45. Volume was around 15% below the daily average of about 21.7 million shares. The company had no specific news Friday.
Of the Dow stocks, 25 are on track to close higher Friday and 5 are set to close lower.
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