24/7 Wall St.

August 1, 2017: Markets opened higher again Tuesday following the government report on personal spending and income which was pretty much in line with expectations. Tuesday’s big moment comes after the closing bell when Apple reports quarterly results. Leading sectors today were financials and utilities with only industrials showing loss with less than an hour to go until the bell. WTI crude oil for September delivery settled at $49.16 a barrel, down 2% for the day on a report that OPEC exports rose in July. December gold added 0.5% on the day to settle at $1,279.40 to close the month up 2.5%. Equities were headed for a higher close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded up 0.33% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.22%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.18%.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Tuesday was Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) which traded up 2.27% at $36.28. The stock’s 52-week range is $33.23 to $38.45. Volume was about a third higher than the daily average of around 21.4 million shares. The company said it has received approval from the Korean government for its acquisition of Mobileye NV..

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) traded up 1.43% at $110.75. The stock’s 52-week range is $97.53 to $119.00. Volume was about 10% above the daily average of about 5.5 million shares. The oil & gas giant had no specific news.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) traded up 1.33% at $49.04. The stock’s 52-week range is $42.80 to $54.83. Volume was nearly double the daily average of around 15 million. The company had no specific news.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) traded up 1.20% at $92.90. The stock’s 52-week range is $63.38 to $94.51. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 13.9 million shares. The big bank had no specific news Tuesday.

Of the Dow stocks, 23 are on track to close higher Tuesday and 7 are set to close lower.