Dow stocks hitting 52 week highs include Apple (AAPL), McDonald’s (MCD), Microsoft (MSFT), Nike (NKE) and Visa (V). There are no Dow stock 52 week lows.

The Market

Premarket today, the Dow was indicated to open down -162 points.

Wednesday the Dow was up +44.44 (+0.13%) at 34,933.23.

Year-to-date the Dow is up +14.14%.

There were 16 Dow stocks up Wednesday.

The Dow stock winners Wednesday were led by Apple (AAPL) 149.15 (+2.41%), Coca Cola (KO) 56.26 (+2.25%) and Honeywell (HON) 227.77 (+1.65%).

The Dow stock losers Wednesday were led by Chevron (CVX) 101.97 (-1.89%), Caterpillar (CAT) 211.64 (-1.65%) and Boeing (BA) 224.45 (-1.64%).

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to deliver his semiannual economic testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. He told the House Committee on Financial Committee on Wednesday that the Fed is still a ways off from altering monetary policy. He also said he expects inflation to moderate even as the latest readings this week on consumer prices and wholesale prices surged.

Bond yields fell on Powell’s dovish message Wednesday. The 10-year Treasury yield continued to drop Thursday to around 1.32%. The Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims for last week came in as expected at 360,000, a new Covid-era low. First-time claims, which rose unexpectedly for the week ended July 3, were upwardly revised. All that data came after the government’s June employment report, which showed the U.S. economy generated a better-than-expected 850,000 nonfarm jobs.

UnitedHealth (UNH) on Thursday morning reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations. In the second quarter, the largest U.S. health insurer reported a medical loss ratio — the percentage of collected premiums spent on services — of nearly 83%. That compared with 70% a year earlier, when patients put off nonurgent care due to the pandemic. UnitedHealth also raised its full-year earnings target.

US futures are mostly lower, European stocks are lower and Asian markets ended mostly lower.

The national average price of gasoline is up eight-tenths of a cent at $3.155 per gallon.

Earnings Reports

Nike (NKE) reported earnings on 6/24/2021 after the market close of $0.93, beating estimates of $0.51 per share.

Walgreens (WBA) reported earnings on 7/1/2021 before the market open of $1.51, beating estimates of $1.114 per share.

Goldman Sachs (GS) reported earnings on 7/13/2021 before the market open of $15.02, beating estimates of $10.24 per share.

JPMorgan (JPM) reported earnings on 7/13/2021 before the market open of $3.78, beating estimates of $3.10 per share.

UnitedHealth (UNH) reported earnings on 7/15/2021 before the market open of $4.70, beating estimates of $4.407 per share.

IBM (IBM) reports earnings on 7/19/2021 after the market close.

Travelers (TRV) reports earnings on 7/20/2021 before the market open.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reports earnings on 7/21/2021 before the market open.

Coca Cola (KO) reports earnings on 7/21/2021 before the market open.

Verizon (VZ) reports earnings on 7/21/2021 before the market open.

Microsoft (MSFT) reports earnings on 7/21/2021 after the market close.

Dow (DOW) reports earnings on 7/22/2021 before the market open.

Intel (INTC) reports earnings on 7/22/2021 after the market close.

American Express (AXP) reports earnings on 7/23/2021 before the market open.

Honeywell (HON) reports earnings on 7/23/2021 before the market open.

Dow (DOW) reports earnings on 7/27/2021 before the market open.

Apple (AAPL) reports earnings on 7/27/2021 after the market close.

Microsoft (MSFT) reports earnings on 7/27/2021 after the market close.

Visa (V) reports earnings on 7/27/2021 after the market close.

Today’s Featured Dow Stock

3M (MMM)

3M (MMM) 202.83 (+1.62%) is up +16.04% in 2021.

Financial Calendar

8:30 AM ET Jobless Claims

8:30 AM ET Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index

8:30 AM ET Empire State Manufacturing Index

8:30 AM ET Import and Export Prices

9:15 AM ET Industrial Production

9:30 AM ET Jerome Powell Speaks

10:30 AM ET EIA Natural Gas Report

11:00 AM ET 3-Month Bill Announcement

11:00 AM ET 6-Month Bill Announcement

11:00 AM ET 10-Yr TIPS Announcement

11:00 AM ET 20-Yr Bond Announcement

11:30 AM ET 4-Week Bill Auction

11:30 AM ET 8-Week Bill Auction

4:30 PM ET Fed Balance Sheet