24/7 Wall St.

September 2 2015: Markets opened higher on Wednesday, following the lead of the overnight futures market. After the opening bell equities traded sideways for most of the morning, dipped in the late morning and made a comeback late in the day. Crude oil dropped to near $43 after the inventory report, but raced higher to end the day up nearly 2% at $45 and change. Shortly before the closing bell the DJIA traded up 1.32% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 1.27%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 1.80%.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Wednesday was Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) which traded higher by 3.30% at $111.27. The stock’s 52-week range is $92.00 to $134.54. Trading volume was about 10% below the daily average of around 55 million. A report that Apple will lease its new iPhones gave shares a boost today.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) traded up 2.91% at $43.04. The stock’s 52-week range is $39.72 to $50.05. About 29 million shares traded hands today, about 15% less than the daily average of about 34 million. The company had no specific news today.

The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) traded up 2.59% at $116.00. The stock’s 52-week range is $86.35 to $123.80. Trading volume was about 20% lower than the daily average of around 5.2 million. The company also had no specific news today.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) traded up 2.50% at $95.81. The stock’s 52-week range is $87.50 to $101.88. Trading volume was about equal to the daily average of around 5.8 million. The company announced that its stores will now offer an all-day breakfast menu.

Of the Dow 30 stocks 28 are set to close higher today and just 2 are on track to close lower.

ALSO READ: America’s Best and Worst Car Brands