Coke Shares Rise To Second-highest Ever Close

Coca-Cola provided one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dreary day for the broad market on Thursday, as the beverage giant's shares rose 0.7% to their second-highest ever closing price of $43.92. The all-time closing high of $43.97 was achieved on July 14, 1998. The Dow industrials component is viewed as a defensive stock, given its relatively-high dividend yield of 2.8% -- the SPDR S&P 500 ETF's yield is 1.9% -- and its inclusion in the consumer staples sector. The stock has gained 3% so far this month while the S&P 500 has declined 1.9%. Year to date, Coke shares have gained 6.3%, while the S&P 500 is up 4.7%. The SPDR Consumer Staples ETF , of which Coke's stock is the second-most heavily weighted, has gained 0.2% in October and 5.1% this year.