March 5, 2018: Markets opened lower Monday but managed to climb out of a hole early and spend the day putting together a solid gain. Given the amount of negative comment on President Trump’s tariff plan it could be that traders are betting that he will at least be more surgical than he has indicated so far. But German chancellor Angela Merkel has finally put together a governing coalition and the benefit of that outweighs the turmoil that’s just beginning following the elections in Italy.
WTI crude oil for April delivery settled at $62.57 a barrel, up 2.2% for the day. April gold dropped 0.3% on the day to settle at $1,319.90. Equities were headed for a higher close about 10 minutes before the bell as the Dow traded up 1.67% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 1.34%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 1.22%.
Bitcoin futures (XBTH8) for March delivery traded at $11,680, up about 6% on the CBOE after opening at $11,350 this morning. The digital currency’s trading range for the day was $11,350 to $11,710.
The Dow stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Monday was Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) which traded up 3.27% at $151.17. The stock’s 52-week range is $90.34 to $173.24. Volume was about 10% above the daily average of around 5.7 million. The company had no specific news.
The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) traded up 2.63% at $353.74 The stock’s 52-week range is $173.75 to $371.60. Volume was nearly 20% above the daily average of around 5.3 million shares. Just before the bell, Reuters reported that Boeing has ruled reviving the 767 as it continues evaluating its New Midrange Aircraft (NMA), often referred to as the 797.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) traded up 2.58% at $14.48. The stock’s 52-week range is $13.95 to $30.54. Volume was about 25% below the daily average of around 88 million shares. The company had no specific news.
The Goldman Sachs Co. Inc. (NYSE: GS) traded up 2.20% at $263.81. The stock’s 52-week range is $209.62 to $273.79. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of about 3.4 million. The company had no specific news today.
Of the Dow stocks, 29 are on track to close higher Monday and just one (Nike) is set to close lower.
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Equity indexes traded very near the break-even line just minutes before the closing bell. The closing tally could show either a small gain or a small loss for any of the indexes.
Stocks traded very near the break-even line just minutes before the closing bell. The closing tally could finish with either a small gain or a small loss for any or all of the indexes.
Today’s four leading gainers account for more than 22% of the Dow’s price-weighted index.
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