Exxon, Chevron Tank the DJIA Friday

Investing

Published: February 2, 2018 4:01 pm

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 3:47 am

February 2, 2018: Markets opened lower again Friday following a decent report on non-farm payrolls. Every Dow stock traded in the red with about half an hour to go before the closing bell. It could be the release of the so-called Nunes Memo added to the decline after it was released this afternoon.

WTI crude oil for March delivery settled at $65.45 a barrel, down 0.5% for the day and down about 1% for the week. April gold dropped about 0.8% on the day to settle at $1,337.30, down more than 1% for the week. Equities were headed for a lower close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded down 2.41% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 1.97%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 1.73%.

Bitcoin futures for February delivery traded at $8,730, down about 3.9% on the CBOE after opening at $7,700 this morning. The digital currency’s trading range for the day was $7,700 to $9,260.The price has dropped to a low not seen since November.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Friday was
Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) which traded down 6.52% at $83.26. The stock’s 52-week range is $76.05 to $89.30. Volume was more than double the daily average of around 10.5 million shares. The company reported dismaying results this morning.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) traded down 5.71% at $118.40. The stock’s 52-week range is $102.55 to $133.88. Volume was nearly double the daily average of around 5.5 million. Like Exxon, Chevron’s results did not live up to expectations.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) traded down 4.44%% at $260.15. The stock’s 52-week range is $209.62 to $273.79. Volume was around 4.6 million shares, about 50% higher than the daily average. The company had no specific news.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) traded down 4.10%% at $160.90. The stock’s 52-week range is $128.16 to $180.10. Volume was approaching three times the daily average of around 29 million shares. The company’s quarterly results were mixed and the outlook did not to calm investors’ fears.

Of the Dow stocks, not one is on track to close higher Friday and all 30 are set to close lower.