August 31, 2018: The S&P 500 closed flat at 2,901.08. The DJIA closed flat at 25,958.85. Separately, the Nasdaq was up 0.3% at 8,109.54.
Friday was a flat day for the broad U.S. markets, with low volume as everyone is getting ready for the long holiday weekend. Crude oil backed off a little in the session to just below $70. The S&P 500 sectors were more or less split down the middle. The most positive sectors were real estate and consumer discretionary up 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively. The worst performing sectors were energy and utilities down 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively.
Crude oil was last seen trading down 0.5% at $69.92.
Gold was last seen trading flat at $1,205.30.
The stock posting the largest daily percentage loss in the S&P 500 ahead of the close was Baker Hughes a GE Company (NYSE: BHGE) which fell about 3% to $32.97. The stock’s 52-week range is $25.53 to $38.10. Volume was about 2 million compared to the daily average volume of nearly 4 million.
The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close was Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA) which traded up about 7% at $260.83. The stock’s 52-week range is $187.96 to $268.88. Volume was about 5 million compared to the daily average volume of nearly 1 million.
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