Caterpillar, UnitedHealth Lead DJIA Slide Thursday
Caterpillar, UnitedHealth, Merck, and Verizon were among the largest losers among DJIA stocks on Thursday.
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
December 14, 2017: Markets opened higher again Thursday but shares trickled lower throughout the day led by a drop of around 1% in the healthcare and materials sectors. Only consumer discretionary stocks posted a decent gain although tech stocks could also close the day with a tiny improvement. WTI crude oil for January delivery settled at $57.04 a barrel, up 0.8% for the day. February gold added 0.7% on the day to settle at $1,257.10. 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 0.27%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.18%.
Bitcoin futures for January traded at $16,860, down 1.14%, on the CBOE about an hour before settlement after opening at $17,0800 this morning. Only about 1,000 contracts had been traded.
The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Thursday was Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) which traded down 1.33% at $146.60. The stock’s 52-week range is $90.34 to $149.05. Volume was about about equal to the daily average of around 3.5 million shares. The company reported a year-over-year November sales increase of 26% on Wednesday morning.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) traded down 1.23% at $221.58. The stock’s 52-week range is $156.09 to $231.77. Volume was about a third below the daily average of around 3 million shares. The company had no specific news.
[nativounit]
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) traded down 0.77% at $52.49. The stock’s 52-week range is $42.80 to $54.83. Volume was about 20% below the daily average of around 17 million. The company had no specific news.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) traded down 0.52% at $56.13. The stock’s 52-week range is $53.63 to $66.80. Volume was about 35% below the daily average of around 11.4 million shares. The company had no specific news.
Of the Dow stocks, 9 are on track to close higher Thursday and 21 are set to close lower.
[recirclink id=430651]
[wallst_email_signup]
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
