September 17, 2014: Markets opened slightly mixed on Wednesday and traded in a narrow range around the break-even line until the FOMC meeting announcement in mid-afternoon. The word that interest rates would remain low for a “considerable time” jolted equities to intra-day highs. The major indexes couldn’t hold the peaks, however, and dipped and bounced toward the close. Shortly before the closing bell the DJIA traded up 0.20% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.18%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.22%.
The Dow 30 stock posting the biggest percentage gain today was E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (NYSE: DD) which traded up 4.97% at $69.10 in a 52-week range of $56.46 to $69.75. Activist investor Nelson Peltz has sent DuPont a letter urging the company to split itself into two pieces. Trading volume was nearly 4-times higher than the daily average of around 3.7 million shares.
The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) traded up 1.16% at $91.32 in a 52-week range of $73.74 to $93.52. Volume was about a 40% lower than the daily average of 6.7 million shares. There was no specific news today, but today’s reports on home building and mortgages were positive, always a good sign for the home improvement giant.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) traded up 0.98% at $30.34 in a 52-week range of $27.87 to $32.96. Trading volume was about 10% below the daily average of nearly 23 million shares. The company had no news today, but investors believe it is still on the prowl for an acquisition, tax-advantaged or not.
American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) traded higher by 0.81% at $89.08 today. The stock’s 52-week range is $72.08 to $96.24. Volume was about equal to the daily average of around 3.4 million shares. There was no news on Amex today.
Of the Dow 30 stocks 18 stocks are set to close higher today and 12 are on track to close lower.
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