January 20, 2017: Markets opened higher Friday as investors got little guidance from economic data (there was none) or earnings reports. Equities traded higher in the morning and dipped beginning in the early afternoon, but the three major indexes have stayed in the green all day with about half an hour to go before the closing bell. WTI crude oil for February delivery settled at $52.42 a barrel, up about 2% on the day for a weekly gain of 0.1%. February gold added 0.3% on the day to settle at $1,204.90. Equities were headed for a higher close close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded up 0.41% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.23%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.15%.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Friday was Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) which traded up 3.90% at $62.68. The stock’s 52-week range is $47.97 to $65.46. Volume was about 70% higher than the daily average of around 11.2 million shares. The company had no specific news Friday, but rival Bristol-Myers said this morning that it would not see accelerated approval for its lung cancer drug and that leaves Merck in the driver’s seat.
The Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) traded up 3.24% at $87.44. The stock’s 52-week range is $76.55 to $90.33. Volume was about double the daily average of around 9.3 million shares. The company reported good second-quarter sales growth and raised its fiscal year forecast.
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) traded up 1.97% at $170.10. The stock’s 52-week range is $116.90 to $170.62, a new 52-week high posted today. Volume was nearly 3 times the daily average of around 3.5 million shares. The company had no specific news.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) traded up about 1.23% at $85.77. The stock’s 52-week range is $73.55 to $95.55. Volume was about 15% above the daily average of around 11.1 million shares. The company had no specific news Friday.
Of the Dow 30 stocks, 18 are on track to close higher Friday and 12 are set to close lower.
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