October 16, 2014: Markets opened lower on Thursday following a sharp drop in crude oil prices overnight and a better-than-expected report on new claims for jobless benefits. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard talked up a longer period of quantitative easing, and that put equities on a solid track to get back in the black.  Shortly before the closing bell the DJIA traded down 0.10% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.15%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.16%.

The Dow 30 stock posting the largest daily loss ahead of the close today was The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) which traded down 2.54% at $172.71. The stock’s 52-week range is $151.65 to $189.50. The big bank reported third quarter results this morning that were better than expected, but that didn’t slow down investors wanting to get rid of shares. Goldman’s volume was more than double the daily average of around 2.7 million shares.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) traded down 1.86% at $73.79 in a 52-week range of $71.69 to $81.37. Volume was more than double the daily average of around 5.6 million shares. The company cut its capex and sales growth forecasts yesterday and investors are not finished selling.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) traded down 1.63% at $27.73. The stock’s 52-week range is $27.51 (a new 52-week low) to $32.96. Trading volume was a third higher than the daily average of around 24 million shares. The company had no news today.

The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) traded lower by 1.41% at $42.62. The stock’s 52-week range is $36.89 to $44.87. Volume was about 30% higher than the daily average of around 15 million shares. The soft drinks maker had no news today.

Of the Dow 30 stocks 20 are set to close lower today and 10 are on track to close higher.

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