December 15, 2017: Markets opened higher again Friday and continue to put up gains throughout the day. All three major equities indexes posted new intra-day highs as all sectors traded in the green, led by financials and consumer staples. WTI crude oil for January delivery settled at $57.30 a barrel, up 0.5% for the day, but down 0.1% for the week. February gold added just 40 cents on the day to settle at $1,257.50 to close the week up 0.7%. Equities were headed for a higher close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded up 0.58% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.83%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 1.05%.
Bitcoin futures for January traded at $XX, down 1.14%, on the CBOE about an hour before settlement after opening at $17,0800 this morning. Only about 1,000 contracts had been traded.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Friday was Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) which traded up 3.43% at $44.74. The stock’s 52-week range is $33.23 to $47.30. Volume was about 10% above the daily average of around 27 million shares. The company had no specific news.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) traded up 2.64% at $86.93. The stock’s 52-week range is $61.95 to $87.09 and the high was set this afternoon. Volume was about a 50% above the daily average of around 21 million shares. The company had no specific news.
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Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) traded up 1.99% at $37.19. The stock’s 52-week range is $30.90 to $37.22 and the high was set this afternoon. Volume was about 25% above the daily average of around 15.7 million shares. The company’s Xeljanz drug for joint disease was approved by the FDA on Thursday.
United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) traded up 1.89% at $126.10. The stock’s 52-week range is $106.85 to $126.44 and the high was posted today. Volume was about 15% above the daily average of around 3 million. The company’s Pratt & Whitney division has won some big contracts in the last two day: one related to the Delta purchase of 100 Airbus planes and the other with the Pentagon for future maintenance of the company’s F119 engine.
Of the Dow stocks, 28 are on track to close higher Friday and just two — IBM and DowDuPont — are set to close lower.
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