April 13, 2017: Markets opened slightly lower Thursday, turning higher in the morning before drifting lower in the afternoon. Three big U.S. banks reported first-quarter mixed first-quarter results this morning, new claims for unemployment benefits were lower than expected, and a consumer sentiment index posted a solid number. Still, investors are wary. Energy and materials were leading all 11 S&P equity sectors down in Thursday’s trading session. WTI crude oil for May delivery settled at $53.18 a barrel, up 0.1% on the day and up about 1.8% for the short week. June gold added 0.8% on the day to settle at $1,288.50, another multi-month high. Equities were headed for a lower close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded down 0.55% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.50%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.35%.
Markets are closed Friday, April 14, in observance of Good Friday.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Thursday was Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) which traded down 2.31% at $106.46. The stock’s 52-week range is $95.52 to $119.00. Volume was about 25% below the daily average of around 6.5 million shares. The company is said to be exploring the sale of its assets in the Canadian oil sands.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) traded down 1.69% at $93.26. The stock’s 52-week range is $69.04 to $99.46. Volume was about 30% below the daily average of around 5.3 million shares. The company had no specific news.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) traded down 1.41% at $81.80. The stock’s 52-week range is $80.31 to $95.55. Volume was about equal to the daily average of around 3.9 million shares. The oil & gas giant was hit by investor concerns about the slow rebalancing in crude oil markets.
E.I. du Pont de Nemours Inc. (NYSE: DD) traded down 1.36% at $77.36. The stock’s 52-week range is $61.12 to $82.37. Volume was 35% below the daily average of around 2.9 million. The company had no specific news Thursday.
Of the Dow stocks, just 2 are on track to close higher Thursday and 28 are set to close lower.
Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With An Advisor Now (Sponsored)
Are you ready for retirement? Planning for retirement can be overwhelming, that’s why it could be a good idea to speak to a fiduciary financial advisor about your goals today.
Start by taking this retirement quiz right here from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes. Smart Asset is now matching over 50,000 people a month.
Click here now to get started.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.