July 2, 2018: Markets opened lower Monday and both the Dow and the S&P 500 never climbed out of the red. The energy sector was the day’s big loser with basic materials and real estate slotted in not far behind. The negative start to the second half of 2018 is the continuing trade tensions between Trump and just about every U.S. trading partner. Carmakers will report June sales Tuesday morning, ahead of the day’s early (1:00 p.m. ET) close and Wednesday’s Independence Day holiday.
The Dow traded very near the break-even line just minutes before the closing bell. The closing tally could show either a small gain or a small loss.
WTI crude oil for August delivery settled at $73.94 a barrel, own about 0.3% on the day. August gold dropped 1% to settle at $1,241.70. Equities were headed for a mixed close about 10 minutes before the bell as the Dow traded down 0.01% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.12%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.51%.
Bitcoin futures (XBTN8) for July delivery traded at $6,640, up 12.6% on the CBOE after opening at $6,320 this morning. The trading range today was $6,265 to $6,675. Bitcoin ATMs are beginning to pop up around the U.S. and the rest of the world.
The Dow stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Monday was Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) which traded down 2.19% at $83.78. The stock’s 52-week range is $73.13 to $109.98. Volume was about 30% below the daily average of around 9.3 million shares. The company appointed a former American Express executive as its chief customer officer.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) traded down 1.90% at $78.17. The 52-range on the stock is $50.35 to $81.00. Volume of around 10 million was about 40% above the daily average of 6.9 million. The company lost tennis icon Roger Federer to Uniqlo.
Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) traded down 1.88% at $124.05. The stock’s 52-week range is $102.55 to $133.88. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 6.7 million. The company had no specific news.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) traded down 1.32% at $81.64 in a 52-week range of $72.16 to $89.30. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 13.1 million shares. The company had no specific news.
Of the Dow stocks, 15 are on track to close higher Monday and 15 are set to close lower.
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