The 4 Stocks That Edged the DJIA Down on Thursday

Investing

Published: May 5, 2016 4:01 pm

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 9:48 am

May 5, 2016: Markets opened higher on Thursday primarily on strengthening crude oil prices despite a move higher by the dollar. Higher job cuts reported by Challenger combined with a rise in new claims for unemployment benefits, the stronger dollar, and Friday’s employment situation report took the wind out of the markets by afternoon. Bond buying has pushed yield on 10-years down 7 basis points since last week. WTI crude oil for June delivery settled at $44.32 a barrel, up about 1.2% for the day, although Thursday’s high topped $46 a barrel. June gold slipped 0.2% on the day to settle at $1,272.30. Equities were headed for a lower close shortly before the closing bell as the DJIA traded down 0.06% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.11%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.20%. The Dow trades just fractionally lower, so the final bell might find the index reading on the plus side of the break-even line.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Thursday was Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) which traded down 1.99% at $72.76. The stock’s 52-week range is $56.36 to $89.62. Trading volume was about 10% above the daily average of around 6 million. The heavy equipment maker had to suffer the announcements of two short positions by Greenlight Capital and Jim Chanos.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) traded down 1.61% at $58.16. The stock’s 52-week range is $47.25 to $68.19. Volume was about 25% below the daily average of around 9.8 million shares. The athletic gear company had no specific news Thursday.

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Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) traded down 1.51% at $53.98 The stock’s 52-week range is $45.69 to $61.70. Volume was about 10% below the daily average of around 9.4 million shares. The pharmaceutical maker beat profit estimates this morning, but revenues lagged.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) traded down 1.16% at $93.10. The stock’s 52-week range is $92.00 to $132.97. Trading volume was about 25% below the daily average of around 39 million. The tech giant had no specific news on Thursday.

Of the Dow 30 stocks 16 are set to close lower Thursday and 14 are on track to close higher.

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