Dow stocks hitting 52-week highs include JPMorgan (JPM) 279.25 (-0.25%) and Visa (V) 355.23 (-0.42%). There are no Dow stock 52-week lows.

The Market

Premarket today, the Dow was indicated to be down -154 points.

Wednesday the Dow closed up +71.25 (+0.16%) at 44,627.59.

Year-to-date the Dow is up +4.90%.

Wednesday, (18) Dow stocks were up, none made 52-week lows, and (2) made 52-week highs.

The Dow stock winners Wednesday were led by Nvidia (NVDA) 135.29 (+3.16%), Cisco (CSCO) 63.84 (+2.09%) and Apple (AAPL) 241.53 (+1.97%). 16.

The Dow stock losers Wednesday were led by Merck (MRK) 84.42 (-1.46%), Boeing (BA) 185.44 (-0.43%) and 3M (MMM) 148.72 (-0.10%).

The VIX closed Wednesday at 15.27 (-0.52%) and the 10 YR at 4.519 (-0.33%). The VIX is currently at 15.58 (+2.03%). The 10YR is at 4.523 (-0.24%).

Walmart (WMT) dropped more than 7% after the company said it expects fiscal year sales to grow between 3% and 4%. The company’s fiscal 2026 earnings outlook, meanwhile, was also below analyst expectations. The weak guidance overshadowed fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that topped estimates.

Yesterday’s newly released minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January meeting showed that the central bank’s officials last month agreed that inflation needs to come down more before they cut interest rates again.

Initial filings for unemployment benefits edged higher last week but were still consistent with a labor market in which employers are keeping their workforce levels consistent. Jobless claims totaled a seasonally adjusted 219,000 for the period ending Feb. 15, up 5,000 from the previous week and a bit higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 215,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Continuing claims, which run a week behind, also nudged higher, totaling 1.87 million for an increase of 24,000. Claims in Washington, D.C., remained elevated as President Donald Trump trims the federal labor rolls, totaling 1,695, according to unadjusted data that represented a slight weekly increase.

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

The national average price of gasoline is up one-tenth of a cent at $3.165 per gallon.

Earnings Reports

Nike (NKE) reported earnings on 12/19/24 after the market close with $0.78, beating estimates for $0.63 per share.

JPMorgan (JPM) reported earnings on 1/15/25 before the market open with $4.81, beating estimates for $4.025 per share.

Goldman Sachs (GS) reported earnings on 1/15/25 before the market open with $7.99 per share.

UnitedHealth (UNH) reported earnings on 1/16/25 before the market open with $6.81, beating estimates for $6.708 per share.

3M (MMM) reported earnings on 1/21/25 before the market open with $1.68, beating estimates for $1.661 per share.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reports earnings on 1/22/25 before the market open with $2.04, beating estimates for $2.003 per share.

Procter & Gamble (PG) reports earnings on 1/22/25 before the market open with $1.88, beating estimates for $1.863 per share.

Travelers (TRV) reported earnings on 1/22/25 before the market open with $9.15, beating estimates for $6.562 per share.

American Express (AXP) reported earnings on 1/24/25 before the market open with $3.04, beating estimates for $3.029 per share.

Verizon (VZ) reported earnings on 1/24/25 before the market open with $1.10, beating estimates for $1.094 per share.

Boeing (BA) reported earnings on 1/28/25 before the market open with -$5.90, missing estimates for -$3.221 per share.

IBM (IBM) reported earnings on 1/29/25 after the market close with $3.90, beating estimates for $3.728 per share.

Microsoft (MSFT) reported earnings on 1/29/25 after the market close with $3.23, beating estimates for $3.11 per share.

Caterpillar (CAT) reported earnings on 1/30/25 before the market open with $5.14, beating estimates for $4.967 per share.

Visa (V) reported earnings on 1/30/25 after the market close with $2.75, beating estimates for $2.659 per share.

Sherwin Williams (SHW) reported earnings on 1/30/25 before the market open with $2.09, beating estimates for $2.069 per share.

Apple (AAPL) reported earnings on 1/30/25 after the market close with $2.40, beating estimates for $2.355 per share.

Chevron (CVX) reported earnings on 1/31/25 before the market open with $2.06, missing estimates for $2.191 per share.

Merck (MRK) reported earnings on 2/4/25 before the market open with $1.72, beating estimates for $1.694 per share.

Amgen (AMGN) reported earnings on 2/4/25 after the market close with $5.31, beating estimates for $5.029 per share.

Disney (DIS) reported earnings on 2/5/25 before the market open with $1.76, beating estimates for $1.437 per share.

Honeywell (HON) reported earnings on 2/6/25 before the market open with $2.47, beating estimates for $2.314 per share.

Amazon (AMZN) reported earnings on 2/6/25 after the market close with $1.86, beating estimates for $1.518 per share.

McDonald’s (MCD) reported earnings on 2/10/25 before the market open with $2.83, matching estimates for $2.835 per share.

Coca Cola (KO) reported earnings on 2/11/25 before the market open with $0.55, matching estimates for $0.514 per share.

Cisco (CSCO) reported earnings on 2/12/25 after the market close with $0.94, beating estimates for $0.741 per share.

Walmart (WMT) reported earnings on 2/20/25 before the market open with $0.66, beating estimates for $0.645 per share.

Home Depot (HD) reports earnings on 2/25/25 before the market open.

Nvidia (NVDA) reports earnings on 2/26/25 after the market close.

Salesforce (CRM) reports earnings on 2/26/25 after the market close.

Today’s Featured Dow Stock

Merck (MRK)

Merck (MRK) 85.60 (+2.77%) is down -13.95% in 2025.

Financial Calendar

08:30 AM ET Continuing Jobless Claims, 1,870K, 1,850K
08:30 AM ET Initial Jobless Claims, 215K, 213K
08:30 AM ET Jobless Claims 4-Week Avg., 216.00K
08:30 AM ET Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index (Feb), 19.4, 44.3
08:30 AM ET Philly Fed Business Conditions (Feb), 46.3
08:30 AM ET Philly Fed CAPEX Index (Feb), 39.00
08:30 AM ET Philly Fed Employment (Feb), 11.9
08:30 AM ET Philly Fed New Orders (Feb), 42.9
08:30 AM ET Philly Fed Prices Paid (Feb), 31.90
09:35 AM ET Fed Goolsbee Speaks
10:00 AM ET US Leading Index (MoM) (Jan), -0.1%, -0.1%
10:30 AM ET Natural Gas Storage, -191B, -100B
11:30 AM ET 4-Week Bill Auction, 4.250%
11:30 AM ET 8-Week Bill Auction, 4.240%
12:00 PM ET Crude Oil Inventories, 3.200M, 4.070M
12:00 PM ET EIA Refinery Crude Runs (WoW), 0.082M
12:00 PM ET Crude Oil Imports, -0.184M
12:00 PM ET Cushing Crude Oil Inventories, 0.872M
12:00 PM ET Distillate Fuel Production, -0.009M
12:00 PM ET EIA Weekly Distillates Stocks, 0.135M
12:00 PM ET Gasoline Production, 0.180M
12:00 PM ET Heating Oil Stockpiles, 0.159M
12:00 PM ET EIA Weekly Refinery Utilization Rates (WoW), 0.5%
12:00 PM ET Gasoline Inventories, -3.035M
13:00 PM ET 30-Year TIPS Auction, 2.055%
14:30 PM ET Fed Governor Jefferson Speaks
14:30 PM ET Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Barr Speaks
16:30 PM ET Fed’s Balance Sheet, 6,814B
16:30 PM ET Reserve Balances with Federal Reserve Banks, 3.255T
17:00 PM ET FOMC Member Kugler Speaks