December 10, 2013: Markets opened lower on Tuesday morning on another day of relatively light trading and likely some more profit-taking. The DJIA closed down 0.33%, the S&P 500 closed down 0.32%, and the Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.20%. Here’s a closer look at the biggest movers on the Dow today.

Among heavily traded DJIA stocks, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) traded about 10 million shares below its daily average today on an all-around down day for the markets. A report that the company’s tax bill in India related to its acquisition of the handset business from Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) could top $3.4 billion might have had something to do with today’s poor showing. Shares traded closed at $38.12, down 1.51%, in a 52-week range of $26.28 to $38.98.

Another DJIA stock leading the way down today was The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) which traded 2 million shares less than its daily average of 15 million. Defensive stocks like Coke got little traction today, and the stock’s heavy weighting in the DJIA cost the index about a third of today’s loss. The stock traded closed down 1.34% at $39.86 in a 52-week range of $35.58 to $43.43.

The Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) opened slightly higher this morning slid pretty steadily all morning before stabilizing in the early afternoon. Like Coke, this defensive stock did not attract many buyers today. The stock’s volume was also well short of its daily average of 7.8 million shares traded. Shares for the stock closed down 1.33% at $83.65 in a 52-week range of $66.83 to $85.82.

A fourth DJIA component, The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) tried to offset today’s DJIA losers, trading higher on regulatory approvals for the Volcker rule. Markets appear to believe that Goldman and the other big banks got off easily. The stock closed at $169.78, up 1.26%, on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $117.04 to $172.20.

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