July 29, 2016: Markets opened mixed again on Friday as the blue chips just couldn’t get a bid. The Bank of Japan did not announce a very aggressive easing plan and the report on U.S. GDP came in lower than expected. The basic materials sector weighed down the indexes today but the trading has been happening in a narrow range, so the closing bell could find the averages up or down by just a small amount. WTI crude oil for September delivery settled at $41.60 a barrel, up 1.1% for the day, down nearly 6% on the week and down 14% for the month of July. December gold closed up 1.2% on the day to settle at $1,357.50. Equities were headed for a mixed close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded down 0.01% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.28%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.24%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Friday was Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) which traded down 1.88% at $88.51. The stock’s 52-week range is $66.55 to $95.55. Volume was about 70% above the daily average of around 10 million shares. The company reported a drop of nearly 60% in second quarter earnings morning. https://247wallst.com/energy-business/2016/07/29/why-exxon-earnings-tumbled-59/
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) traded down 1.28% at $78.18. The stock’s 52-week range is $60.00 to $81.73. Volume was about 40% below the daily average of around 9 million shares. The credit card issuer had no specific news, and Friday’s dip is a bit larger than Thursday’s rise, for which there was also no news.
McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) traded down 1.26% at $117.91. The stock’s 52-week range is $87.50 to $131.96. Trading volume was about equal to the daily average of around 5.5 million. The fast food giant had no specific news.
The Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) traded down 1.04% at $116.38. The stock’s 52-week range is $95.21 to $119.30. Volume was about 10% above the daily average of around 1.4 million shares. The company had no specific news Friday.
Of the 30 Dow index stocks 14 are on track to close lower Friday and 16 are set to close higher.
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