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November 20, 2018: Markets opened lower Tuesday as the sell-off in equities continues. Today’s catalyst appears to have been a number of weak earnings reports from some major retailers. Belief is evaporating for growth in global markets and while consumer spending remains strong, the trend is ever so slightly downward. Every equity sector traded in the red Tuesday led by the energy, telecom, and industrials sectors.

WTI crude oil for January delivery settled at $53.43 a barrel, down 6.6% for the day on the contract’s first day as the prompt month. December gold dropped about 0.3% to settle at $1,221.20 for the day. Equities were heading for a lower close about 10 minutes before the bell as the Dow traded down 2.04% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 1.55%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 1.46%.

Bitcoin futures (XBTZ8) for December delivery traded at $4,065, down about 15.3% for the day on the Cboe after opening at $4,535 this morning. The trading range today was $4,025 to $4,705.

The Dow stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Tuesday was Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) which traded down 4.96% at $176.64 in a 52-week range of $150.24 to $233.47. Volume was about 60% above the daily average of around 36.5 million shares.

Walgreens, Boots, Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA) traded down 4.03% at $78.65. The 52-week range on the stock is $59.07 to $83.18. Volume was about 15% higher than the daily average of around 5.7 million.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) traded down 3.25% at $101.22. The stock’s 52-week range is $80.70 to $116.18. Volume was about half the daily average of around 31.5 million.

The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) traded down 3.15% at $111.78. The stock’s 52-week range is $97.68 to $120.20. Volume was about 25% above the daily average of around 7.3 million shares.

Of the Dow stocks, none was set to close higher Tuesday and all 30 were on track to close lower.