April 26, 2018: Markets opened higher Thursday and equities kept pushing higher all day as the tech sector wouldn’t be denied following Facebook’s big earnings numbers from last night. This morning’s report on durable goods rode the wave of new airplane orders on Boeing. The ECB left rates and easing alone and the dollar weakened as a result. The 10-year Treasury held above 3%.
WTI crude oil for June delivery settled at $68.19 a barrel, up 0.2% for the day. June gold dropped about 0.4% on the day to settle at $1,317.90. Equities were headed for a higher close about 10 minutes before the bell as the Dow traded up 0.92% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.99%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 1.60%.
Bitcoin futures (XBTK8) for May delivery traded at $8,880, down about 2% on the CBOE after opening at $9,150 this morning. The digital currency’s trading range for the day was $8,650 to $9,200.
The Dow stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Thursday was Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) which traded up 5.07% at $127.35. The stock’s 52-week range is $90.98 to $127.59. Volume was about 30% above the daily average of around 8.6 million shares. The credit card company posted strong earnings and raised estimates last night.
The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) traded up 4.49% at $185.36 in a 52-week range of $144.25 to $207.61. Volume of about 6 million shares was about 10% above the daily average. The company had no specific news.
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Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) traded up 2.81% at $52.83 The stock’s 52-week range is $33.23 to $54.36. Volume was about 30% below the daily average of around 33 million. The company announces earnings after markets close today.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) traded up 2.88% at $94.97. The stock’s 52-week range is $67.14 to $97.24. Volume was about 25% below the daily average of around 35 million. The company reports earnings after the bell today.
Of the Dow stocks, 26 are on track to close higher Thursday and 4 are set to close lower.
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