June 25, 2018: Markets opened lower Monday and the three major indexes sank deeper as the trading entered its final half hour. Â Trump ratcheted up threats aimed at U.S. trading partners and markets are making everyone share the pain. All but utilities, that perennial defensive sector, and consumer staples. The tech and energy sectors took the biggest hits today and iconic motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson may be just the beginning of more reports of tariff impacts on U.S. manufacturing firms.
WTI crude oil for August delivery settled at $68.08 a barrel, down about 0.7% on the day. August gold dropped about 0.1% to settle at $1,268.90, the yellow metal’s lowest settlement to date in 2018. Equities were headed for a lower close about 10 minutes before the bell as the Dow traded down 1.36% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 1.41%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 2.17%.
Bitcoin futures (XBTN8) for July delivery traded at $6,245, up about 1.8% on the CBOE after opening at $6,145 this morning. The trading range today was $6,070 to $6,345. A new research paper raises questions about the long-term value of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.
The Dow stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Monday was Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) which traded down 3.46% at $130.65. The 52-range on the stock is $93.19 to $136.69. Volume of around 7.9 million was above the daily average of about 7.4 million. The company had no specific news.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) traded down 3.43% at $50.70 in a 52-week range of $33.23 to $56.70. Volume was about 25% above the daily average of around 28.2 million shares. Nomura Securities reduced its rating on the stock from Buy to Neutral and cut the price target from $60 to $55.
McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) traded down 2.93% at $159.73. The stock’s 52-week range is $146.84 to $178.70. Volume was about 40% above the daily average of around 3.9 million shares. The company had no specific news.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) traded down 2.17% at $136.91. The stock’s 52-week range is $103.44 to $173.24. Volume was slightly higher than the daily average of around 4.7 million. The company had no specific news but rising crude oil prices never hurt an oil company’s stock.
Of the Dow stocks, just 4 are on track to close higher Monday and 26 are set to close lower.
A reminder: Today marks the last day that General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) will be included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average index. Beginning Tuesday morning Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA) replaces the struggling industrial giant.
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