July 13, 2016: Markets opened higher again Wednesday but by noon only the DJIA was still trading with a gain. A weakish dollar trade lasted most of the day while oil started the day with a small loss that grew into a big one. The telecom and utilities sectors were Wednesday’s leaders, and energy was the big loser. WTI crude oil for August delivery settled at $44.75 a barrel, down 4.4% for the day. August gold added 0.6% on the day to settle at $1343.60. Equities were headed for a mixed close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded up 0.17% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.05%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.24%.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Wednesday was UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) which traded up 1.12% at $141.43. The stock’s 52-week range is $95.00 to $142.96. Trading volume was about 25% below the daily average of around 3.2 million. The health insurer had no specific news.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) traded up 0.96% at $56.00. The stock’s 52-week range is $38.06 to $56.95. Trading volume was about 35% below the daily average of nearly 13.8 million shares. The telecom giant also had no specific news.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) traded up 0.94% at $53.71. The stock’s 52-week range is $39.72 to $56.85. Volume was about 45% below the daily average of around 32.6 million shares. The company had no specific news today.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) traded up 0.7% at $158.14. The stock’s 52-week range is $116.90 to $173.78. Volume was about 35% below the daily average of around 3.8 million shares. The tech services company teamed up with AT&T on an internet of things (IoT) initiative

Of the 30 Dow index stocks 18 are on track to close lower Wednesday and 12 are set close higher.

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