October 5, 2018: Markets opened mixed Friday even though the September jobs report was reasonably good and the headline unemployment rate fell to a half-century low of 3.7%. The 10-year Treasury note peaked at 3.245% after opening at 3.195%. Selling took over just after the bell but equities were coming back from intraday lows as the session wound down. Only the utilities sector posted any sort of gain while tech, telecom, and consumer discretionary stocks stumbled the most. WTI crude oil for November delivery settled at $74.34 a barrel, up a single penny for the day but 1.5% higher for the week. December gold added about 0.3% to settle at $1,205.60, closing the week up about 0.8. Equities were heading for a second consecutive lower close about 10 minutes before the bell as the Dow traded down 0.54% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.39%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.91%.
Bitcoin futures (XBTV8) for October delivery traded at $6,540, down less than 0.1% on the Cboe after opening at $6,545 this morning. The trading range today was $6,505 to $6,585.
The Dow stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Friday was Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) which traded down 2.44% at $152.92 in a 52-week range of $125.94 to $173.24. Volume was about 10% below the daily average of around 4.44 million shares.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) traded down 2.41% at $46.97. The stock’s 52-week range is $38.98 to $57.60. Volume was about 15% lower than the daily average of around 23.9 million.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) traded down 1.57% at $224.41. The 52-week range on the stock is $150.24 to $233.47. Volume was about equal to the daily average of around 28.5 million.
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) traded down 1.53% at $149.00. The stock’s 52-week range is $137.45 to $171.13. Volume was about 20% below the daily average of around 4.3 million shares.
Of the Dow stocks, 6 were set to close higher Friday and 24 were on track to close lower.
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