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September 11, 2017: Markets opened higher Monday as Hurricane Irma appears to be less damaging than originally feared, putting some air back under the financial stocks. No economic news was released today and, in another instance of the dog that didn’t bark, North Korea did not fire off another missile or test another nuke over the weekend. WTI crude oil for October delivery settled at $48.07a barrel, up 1.2% on the day. Gold dropped 1.2% to settle at $1,335.70. Equities were headed for a higher close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded up 1.15% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 1.02%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 1.06%.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Monday was The Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) which traded up 2.51% at $122.77. The stock’s 52-week range is $103.45 to $130.37. Volume was nearly double the daily average of around 1.5 million shares. The company had no specific news, but the assumption that damage from Irma would be lower than expected was good news for insurers.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) traded up 2.43% at $32.24. The stock’s 52-week range is $29.12 to $34.60, and the low was posted this afternoon. Volume was about 40% above the daily average of around 21 million shares. The company had no specific news.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) traded up 1.99% at $221.53. The stock’s 52-week range is $157.77 to $255.15. Volume was about 20% below the daily average of around 3 million. The company is reportedly about to initiate an online deposit business in Britain sometime next year as it expands its retail banking business.

3M Company (NYSE: MMM) traded up 1.88% at $209.57. The stock’s 52-week range is $163.85 to $214.57. Volume was about 25% below the daily average of around 1.7 million shares. The company had no specific news.

Of the Dow stocks, 27 are on track to close higher Monday and just 3 are set to close lower.