Intel, Caterpillar Sink the Dow Tuesday

May 15, 2018: Markets opened lower Tuesday when investors got spooked after the 10-year Treasury yield topped 3%. The government report on retail sales posted a gain inline with expectations signaling a still-growing U.S. economy even though a big part of the gain was due to higher gasoline prices. All 10 sectors traded lower with real estate and healthcare dropping the most.

WTI crude oil for June delivery settled at $71.31 a barrel, up about 0.5% for the day. June gold dropped about 2.1% on the day to settle at $1,290.30.  Equities were headed for a lower close about 10 minutes before the bell as the Dow traded down 1.03% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.93%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 1.00%.

Bitcoin futures (XBTK8) for May delivery traded at $8,490, down about 3% on the CBOE after opening at $8,780 this morning. The trading range today was $8,430 to $8,860.

The Dow stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Tuesday was Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) which traded down 1.97% at $53.82. The stock’s 52-week range is $33.23 to $55.79. Volume was about half the daily average of around 30.3 million shares. The company announced plans to invest $5 billion in expanding its production facility in Israel.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) traded down 1.87% at $152.37. The stock’s 52-week range is $97.74 to $173.24. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 5.6 million. The company had no specific news.

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3M Company (NYSE: MMM) traded down 1.74% at $202.18. The stock’s 52-week range is $191.44 to $259.77. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 2.9 million shares. The company had no specific news Tuesday.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) traded down 1.60% at $47.72 in a 52-week range of $42.80 to $54.77. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of 16.4witt million. The company had no specific news.

Of the Dow stocks, just 2 are on track to close higher Tuesday and 28 are set to close lower.

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