UnitedHealth, Verizon Lift DJIA Wednesday

November 29, 2017 by Paul Ausick

November 29, 2017: Markets opened mixed Wednesday as the Nasdaq Composite suffered from some profit taking. The second estimate of Q3 GDP growth rose to 3.3%, helping the financial sector to a solid gain, but not a big as the gain in telecom. Tech sector stocks took a beating. WTI crude oil for January delivery settled at $57.30 a barrel, down 1.2% for the day following the EIA inventory report and ahead of tomorrow’s OPEC meeting. December gold dropped 1% on the day to settle at $1,286.20. Equities were headed for a mixed close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded up 0.40% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.10%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 1.38%.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Wednesday was UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) which traded up 3.16% at $222.96. The stock’s 52-week range is $156.09 to $224.21 and the high was posted this afternoon. Volume was about 15% above the daily average of around 2.9 million. The healthcare company had no specific news.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) traded up 2.02% at $49.81. The stock’s 52-week range is $42.80 to $54.83 Volume was about 80% above the daily average of around 15.3 million shares. The telecom company had no specific news.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) traded up 2.23% at $103.68. The stock’s 52-week range is $79.70 to $104.22, a new 52-week high set this morning. Volume was about 50% above the daily average of around 11.6 million shares. The big bank had no specific news.

The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) traded up 1.70% at $105.17. The stock’s 52-week range is $96.20 to $116.10. Volume was about 50% higher than the daily average of around 7.8 million shares. The company announced 150 layoffs at ESPN this morning..

Of the Dow stocks, 19 are on track to close higher Wednesday and 11 are set to close lower.

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