October 26, 2018: Markets opened lower Friday, down more than 500 points before pushing toward the break-even line before turning south again. A couple of big tech stocks raised more concerns about overall corporate earnings and while this morning’s advance GDP estimate was solid, it was significantly lower than second-quarter totals. Every sector traded down Friday, with tech and telecom faring the worst.
WTI crude oil for December delivery settled at $67.59 a barrel, up 0.4% for the day but down about 2.4% for the week following a slight increase in the oil rig count. December gold added about 0.3% to settle at $1,235.80 and up about 0.6% for the week. Equities were heading for a lower close about 10 minutes before the bell as the Dow traded down 1.13% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 1.48%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 1.96%.
Bitcoin futures (XBTX8) for November delivery traded at $6,400, up 0.1% for the day on the Cboe after opening at $6,385 this morning. The trading range today was $6,320 to $6,450.
The Dow stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Friday was The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) which traded down 3.77% at $172.32. The stock’s 52-week range is $160.53 to $215.43. Volume was about 35% above the daily average of around 4.5 million.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) traded down 3.19% at $44.02 in a 52-week range of $33.67 to $49.47. Volume was 15% higher than the daily average of around 20.4 million shares.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) traded down 2.48% at $257.68. The stock’s 52-week range is $207.80 to $272.81. Volume was about 33% above the daily average of around 2.7 million shares.
American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) traded down 2.37% at $101.14. The 52-week range on the stock is $87.54 to $111.77. Volume was about 10% higher than the daily average of around 3.1 million.
Of the Dow stocks, 6 were set to close higher Friday and 24 were on track to close lower.
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