Procter & Gamble, Disney Push the Dow Higher Friday

June 8, 2018: Markets opened lower Friday, likely due to traders’ anxiety over what would happen at the G-7 meeting in Canada. Once the president said the group ought to let Russia back in, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and equity prices recovered. Energy sector stocks have been the day’s biggest drag and the utilities was the only other sector trading in the red for the day. Consumer staples was the leading gainer.

WTI crude oil for July delivery closed at $65.74 a barrel, down about 1.3% for the day to close the week down about 0.1%. The U.S. rig count added a couple of rigs this week and the possibility of more production from Russia and Saudi Arabia have weighed on prices. August gold dropped less than 0.1% on the day to settle at $1,302.70. Equities were headed for a modestly higher close about 10 minutes before the bell as the Dow traded up 0.0.29% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.30%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.21%.

Bitcoin futures (XBTM8) for June delivery traded at $7,655, down about 0.7% on the CBOE after opening at $7,670 this morning. The trading range today was $7,540 to $7,705.

The Dow stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Friday was The Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) which traded up 1.63% at $77.00. The stock’s 52-week range is $70.73 to $94.67. Volume was about 10% above the daily average of around 9.4 million. The company had no specific news Friday although activist investor Nelson Peltz said last night that breaking up P&G would unlock value.

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The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) traded up 1.41% at $103.92. The stock’s 52-week range is $96.20 to $113.19. Volume was about 35% below the daily average of around 8 million shares. The fast-food giant’s stock received an analyst’s upgrade this morning. The company had no specific news, if you don’t count the release of ‘Black Panther’ to DVD.

The Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) traded up 1.10% at $131.20 in a 52-week range of $113.76 to $150.55. Volume was about equal to the daily average of around 6.7 million shares. The company had no specific news.

The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) traded up 1.01% at $198.16. The stock’s 52-week range is $144.25 to $207.61. Volume was about 35% below the daily average of around 1.5 million. The company had no specific news.

Of the Dow stocks, 21 are on track to close higher Friday and 9 are set to close lower.

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