May 10, 2018: Markets opened higher again Thursday following a report that the consumer price index rose just 0.2% in April (only 0.1% excluding food and energy). The gain could indicate that the Fed won’t rush to raise interest rates again. Even Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal is not pushing flows out of equities and into safe havens although 10-year Treasuries hit 3% today and gold traded a little higher.
WTI crude oil for June delivery settled at $71.36 a barrel, up 0.3% for the day. June gold added about 0.7% on the day to settle at $1,322.30. Equities were headed for a higher close about 10 minutes before the bell as the Dow traded up 0.78% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.86%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.80.
Bitcoin futures (XBTK8) for May delivery traded at $9,100, down about 2% on the CBOE after opening at $9,245 this morning. The trading range today was $9,075 to $9,420. Trading platform Robinhood announced a $363 million venture funding round today that values the company at $5.6 billion.
The Dow stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Thursday was The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) which traded up 1.70% at $101.67X. The stock’s 52-week range is $96.20 to $113.19. Volume was about 15% below the daily average of around 8 million shares. The company’s latest movie mega-hit, “Avengers: Infinity War,” opens in China this weekend.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) traded up 2.05% at $81.57 in a 52-week range of $72.16 to $89.30. Volume was about 10%below the daily average of 15.1 million. The company had no specific news, but oil prices continue moving higher and natural gas prices were also up after today’s storage report.
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UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) traded up 1.73% at $233.18. The stock’s 52-week range is $166.65 to $250.79. Volume was about 60% below the daily average of around 3.5 million shares. The company had no specific news.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) traded up 1.44% at $47.05. The stock’s 52-week range is $42.80 to $54.77. Volume was about 25% below the daily average of around 16.3 million. The company had no specific news.
Of the Dow stocks, 25 are on track to close higher Thursday and 5 are set to close lower.
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