August 17, 2018: The S&P 500 closed up 0.3% at 2,850.12. The DJIA closed up 0.4% at 25,669.02. Separately, the Nasdaq was flat at 7,816.33.
Friday was a positive day for the broad U.S. markets. Although all three major indexes had a slow start to the day, two ended with a solid gain and one closed flat. Crude oil took another small step forward in the session. The S&P 500 sectors were all positive. The most positive sectors were real estate, materials, and consumer staples up 0.9%, 0.8%, and 0.8%, respectively. The “worst” performing sector was technology up only 0.2%.
Crude oil was last seen trading up 0.7% at $65.89.
Gold was last seen trading up 0.5% at $1,189.50.
The stock posting the largest daily percentage loss in the S&P 500 ahead of the close was Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) which fell about 7.5% to $43.85. The stock’s 52-week range is $42.62 to $62.40. Volume was about 52 million compared to the daily average volume of 12.7 million.
The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close was Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) which traded up about 13% at $59.13. The stock’s 52-week range is $37.79 to $59.21. Volume was about 17 million compared to the daily average volume of 2.5 million.
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