December 11, 2017: Markets opened mixed Monday with the DJIA lagging a bit. By mid-afternoon all three major indexes were trading in the green, even if barely. Tech, telecom, and energy sectors were among the day’s leading sectors while industrials and financials lagged. WTI crude oil for January delivery settled at $57.99 a barrel, up 1.1% for the day. February gold dropped 0.1% on the day to settle at $1,246.90. Equities were headed for a higher close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded up 0.11% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.19%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.41%.
Bitcoin futures for January closed at $18,450 on the CBOE after opening Sunday afternoon at $15,000 per bitcoin. Fewer than 4,000 contracts were traded.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Monday was The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) which traded up 1.97% at $106.28. The stock’s 52-week range is $96.20 to $116.10. Volume was about 50% lower than the daily average of around 7.8 million shares. The company is expected to announce a deal with Fox this week.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) traded up 1.80% at $172.42. The stock’s 52-week range is $112.49 to $176.24. Volume was about 15% below the daily average of around 28.8 million shares. The company announced the acquisition of music-recognition company Shazam.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) traded up 1.40% at $56.35. The stock’s 52-week range is $53.63 to $66.80. Volume was about about 35% below the daily average of around 11.1 million shares. The drug giant had no specific news.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) traded up 1.29% at $36.20. The stock’s 52-week range is $30.90 to $36.78. Volume was about half the daily average of around 16.3 million. The company, along with other pharmaceutical firms, is expected to benefit from the proposed tax bill.
Of the Dow stocks, 17 are on track to close higher Monday and 13 are set to close lower.
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