February 7, 2018: Markets opened lower for a fifth consecutive session on Wednesday but the blue chips took off right after the bell. The S&P 500 is trading higher as well, but the Nasdaq Composite remains stuck in the red. Reports of a Senate deal on raising the debt ceiling and passing another temporary budget also helped push stocks higher.
WTI crude oil for March delivery settled at $61.79 a barrel, down 2.5% for the day following a bearish report on U.S. inventories. April gold dropped about 1.1% on the day to settle at $1,314.600. Equities were headed for a mixed close close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded up 0.97% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.47%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.03%.
Bitcoin futures for February delivery traded at $8,070, up more than 6% on the CBOE after opening at $7,780 this morning. The digital currency’s trading range for the day was $7,190 to $8,560.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Wednesday was
The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) which traded up 3.15% at $351.64. The stock’s 52-week range is $163.69 to $361.45. Volume was about 50% higher than the daily average of around 4.4 million shares. The company trades ex-dividend Thursday.
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) traded up 2.91% at $103.84. The stock’s 52-week range is $66.89 to $109.98. Volume was about 15% below the daily average of around 9.3 million. The company had no specific news.
United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) traded up 2.40%% at $132.92. The stock’s 52-week range is $107.05 to $139.24. Volume was around 56 million shares, about 80% more than the daily average of about 3.6 million. The company had no specific news Wednesday.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) traded up 1.94%% at $45.78. The stock’s 52-week range is $33.23 to $50.85. Volume was about 15% below the daily average of around 33 million shares. The company had no specific news Wednesday.
Of the Dow stocks, 22 are on track to close higher Wednesday and 8 are set to close lower.
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