August 8, 2016: Markets opened higher Monday but turned south shortly after the opening bell and remained in the red for the rest of the day. The dollar gained strength this afternoon and crude oil prices were buoyed by an OPEC statement declaring that the oil market is on its way to re-balancing. Energy was the sole sector winner today, while healthcare, consumer discretionary, and telecom were the big losers. WTI crude oil for September delivery settled at $43.02 a barrel, up 2.9% for the day. December gold closed down 0.2% on the day to settle at $1,341.30. Equities were headed for a lower close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded down 0.13% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.14%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.21%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Monday was Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) which traded down 1.86% at $62.67. The stock’s 52-week range is $45.69 to $64.00. Volume was nearly double the daily average of around 9.6 million shares. Competitor Bristol-Myers Squibb reported last Friday that its lung cancer drug failed a clinical trial, giving Merck a temporary positive jolt.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) traded down 1.52% at $34.90. The stock’s 52-week range is $28.25 to $37.39. Volume was about equal to the daily average of around 23.8 million shares. The healthcare giant had no specific news Monday.
McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) traded down 0.80% at $118.26. The stock’s 52-week range is $87.50 to $131.96. Volume was about half the daily average of around 5.5 million shares. The company had no specific news Monday.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) traded down 0.45% at $141.92. The stock’s 52-week range is $95.00 to $144.48. Trading volume was about 60% below the daily average of around 3.2 million. The big health insurer had no specific news.
Of the 30 Dow index stocks 10 are on track to close higher Monday and 20 are set to close lower.
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