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October 16, 2017: Markets opened higher Friday following a strong report from the Empire State Manufacturing with the General Business Conditions Index blowing out the consensus. Gasoline prices at the pump continued to drop for the fifth consecutive week. Monday’s best performing sectors were Financials and Technology, while Health Care and Real Estate lagged.  Crude oil was last seen at $51.85 a barrel, up about 0.78% on the day. Gold was down 0.7% on the day at $1,295.40. Equities closed higher as the DJIA traded up 0.37% for the day, the S&P 500 traded up 0.17%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.28%.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close Monday was JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) which traded up 2% at $97.84. The stock’s 52-week range is $66.74 to $97.95. Volume was about 16 million compared to the daily average of around 12 million shares.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) traded up 1.7% at $23.36. The stock’s 52-week range is $22.83 to $32.38. Volume was over 68 million, above the daily average of around 42 million.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) traded up 1.8% at $159.88. The stock’s 52-week range is $104.08 to $164.94. Volume was 22 million, below the daily average of around 27 million shares.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) traded up 1.4% at $241.90. The stock’s 52-week range is $168.45 to $255.15. Volume was about 4 million, compared to the daily average of around 3 million shares.

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) traded up 1.7% at $128.82. The stock’s 52-week range is $103.45 to $130.37. Volume was just over 2 million, above the daily average of around 1.5 million shares.

Of the Dow stocks, 19 are on track to close higher Friday and 10 are set to close lower.