May 1, 2015: Markets opened higher on Friday following mixed news on construction spending, the ISM manufacturing index, and the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer confidence survey. None performed as well as expectations, but then, none was a complete flop either. Investors interpreted that as good news and stocks traded higher all day. Shortly before the closing bell the DJIA traded up 0.92% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.99%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 1.18%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Friday was Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) which traded up 2.68% at $128.51. The stock’s 52-week range is $82.90 to $134.54. Trading volume was about 15% below the daily average of around 53 million shares. The company had no specific news today, but is making up some of the ground it gave up as Thursday’s biggest Dow loser.
The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) traded up 2.45% at $109.60. The stock’s 52-week range is $75.32 to $117.99. Trading volume is about equal to the daily average of around 5 million shares. The home improvement store’s chief competitor, Lowe’s, attracted some strong low options action yesterday.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) traded higher by 2.37% at $33.32. The stock’s 52-week range is $25.74 to $37.90. Trading volume was about 30% below the daily average of around 31 million shares. The chip maker had no specific news today.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) traded up 1.83% at $100.65. The stock’s 52-week range is $71.53 to $103.79. Trading volume is about 20% below the daily average of around 3.5 million shares. The company had no specific news today.
Of the Dow 30 stocks 26 are set to close higher today and just 4 are on track to close lower.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks