June 18, 2018: Markets opened lower again Monday on continuing worries about the impact of a U.S. trade war with China and several of its closest allies like Canada and Britain. As costs for imported goods rise, manufacturers have to pass those costs along and risk losing customers or swallow the costs and lower their profits. The consumer staples and telecom sectors were Monday’s worst performers.
WTI crude oil for July delivery settled at $65.85 a barrel, up about 1.2% for the day. August gold added about 0.1% on the day to settle at $1,280.10. Equities were headed for a lower close about 10 minutes before the bell as the Dow traded down 0.38% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.20%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.01%.
Bitcoin futures (XBTN8) for July delivery traded at $6,695, up about 2.1% on the CBOE after opening at $6,500 this morning. The trading range today was $6,365 to $6,810.
The Dow stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Monday was Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) which traded down 3.61% at $53.12. The stock’s 52-w27.84.8 million. The company’s stock was downgraded to Underperform at Northland Capital Markets this morning.
The Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) traded down 2.00% at $75.83. The stock’s 52-week range is $70.73 to $94.67. Volume was about 45% below the daily average of around 9.5 million shares. The company had no specific news today.
The Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) traded down 1.36% at $127.61 in a 52-week range of $113.76 to $150.55. Volume was about 30% below the daily average of around 1.4 million shares. The company had no specific news Monday.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) traded down 1.63% at $61.02. The stock’s 52-week range is $52.83 to $66.41. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 11.2 million. The company had no specific news.
Of the Dow stocks, 9 are on track to close higher Monday and 21 are set to close lower.
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