Stocks End Near Session Highs
Stocks ended a volatile week on a strong note, with all three major indexes finishing sharply higher in trading today. Stocks bounced back after Thursday’s huge sell-off.
The Dow Jones ended the day 0.53% higher at 12,640.78, the S&P 500 ended the day 0.72% higher at 1,335.02, and the Nasdaq ended the day 1.17% higher at 2,892.52.
The week began on a promising note as Greek voters opted for the pro-bailout parties in the election last Sunday. Although the Greek election results ended a great deal of uncertainty, Spanish borrowing costs rose to a euro-era high. Italian borrowing costs also surged raising renewed worries over the euro zone debt crisis.
Investors’ sentiment was also weighed down by lack of action from the Federal Reserve at the end of its two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday. The Fed extended its Operation Twist program on Wednesday, which was expected. However, the central bank did not hint at more aggressive monetary easing.
Worries over the euro zone, lack of action from the Fed, and some concerns over global economic growth sparked a huge sell-off on Thursday.
Although stocks made a recovery today, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 ended lower for the week. The Dow Jones fell 0.99%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.58% for the week. Nasdaq managed to post a 0.68% gain for the week.
Financials led the gains in trading today, gaining 1%. The gains in the sector were led by bank stocks, which rose despite a rating downgrade of five of the six biggest U.S. banks by Moody’s. The ratings agency also downgraded the credit rating of several European banks.
However, the move did not have much impact on bank stocks in the U.S., with Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) finishing 1.53% higher, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) finishing 1.29% higher and JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) finishing 1.35% higher.
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Post Written By: Ed Liston
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.
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