Apple, McDonald’s Sink the Dow Monday

September 17, 2018 by Paul Ausick

September 17, 2018: Markets opened lower Monday following a tumultuous trading day in Asia and new worries about deteriorating relations between the United States and China. Only the Dow was able briefly to break into the green, but the visit was a short one. Tech stocks took the worst beating while defensive sectors like utilities and consumer staples could manage only tiny offsetting gains.

WTI crude oil for October delivery settled at $68.91 a barrel, down about 0.1% on the day. December gold added about 0.4% to settle at $1,205.80. Equities were heading for a lower close about 10 minutes before the bell as the Dow traded down 0.40% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.54%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 1.36%.

Bitcoin futures (XBTU8) for September delivery traded at $6,270, down about 4% on the Cboe after opening at $6,510 this morning. The trading range today was $6,205 to $6,525.

The Dow stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Monday was Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) which traded down 2.35% at $218.57. The stock’s 52-week range is $149.16 to $229.67. Volume was about 10% above the daily average of around 26.5 million shares.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) traded down 1.66% at $158.17. The 52-range on the stock is $146.84 to $178.70. Volume was about 25% above the daily average of around 3.4 million.

The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) traded down 1.26% at $355.25 in a 52-week range of $248.91 to $374.48. Volume was about 30% below the daily average of around 3.1 million shares.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) traded down 1.16% at $146.12. The stock’s 52-week range is $102.75 to $148.37. Volume was about half the daily average of around 7.2 million.

Of the Dow stocks, 13 were set to close higher Monday and 17 were on track to close lower.

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