November 2, 2018: Markets opened higher Thursday but it didn’t take long for word to spread that trade talks between China and the United States were going nowhere. The threat of a longer and deeper trade war let the air out of a market that had gotten off to a decent start with the employment report. The U.S. trade deficit rose to a seven-month high in September on record imports.
WTI crude oil for December delivery settled at $63.14 a barrel, down 0.9% for the day and down 6.6% for the week. December gold dropped about 0.4% to settle at $1,233.30 for the day and down about 0.2% for the week. Equities were heading for a lower close about 10 minutes before the bell as the Dow traded down 0.51% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.68%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 1.10%.
Bitcoin futures (XBTX8) for November delivery traded at $6,355, up 0.67% for the day on the Cboe after opening at $6,335 this morning. The trading range today was $6,320 to $6,375.
The Dow stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Friday was Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) which traded down 7.43% at $205.68. The 52-week range on the stock is $150.24 to $233.47. Volume was about 2.5 times higher than the daily average of around 33.2 million. The company reported earnings after the bell Thursday that did not meet investors’ wishes in every conceivable way.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) traded down 2.02% at $47.24. The stock’s 52-week range is $42.04 to $57.60. Volume was about 15% below the daily average of around 27 million.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) traded down 1.69% at $42.93 in a 52-week range of $33.20 to $45.81. Volume was about 15% lower than the daily average of around 21.4 million shares.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) traded down 1.09% at $72.32. The stock’s 52-week range is $52.83 to $74.49. Volume was about 10% below the daily average of around 9.3 million shares.
Of the Dow stocks, 11 were set to close higher Friday and 19 were on track to close lower.
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