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- Will U.S. Investors Continue To Shrug Off Flow Of Bad News? - Editor, 8 December 2008 - No Comments yet
- Likelihood of Big Three Bailout Boosts U.S. Markets - Editor, 3 December 2008 - No Comments yet
- Will Black Friday Rescue U.S. Retailers? - Editor, 28 November 2008 - No Comments yet
- Monday’s Stock Market Rally Seen as Endorsement of Obama’s Economic Team - Editor, 25 November 2008 - No Comments yet
- Stock Markets Dive As Investor Anxiety Grows Over State Of Global Economy, U.S. Automakers and Oil Prices - Editor, 20 November 2008 - No Comments yet
- G-20 Summit Agrees On Direction For Dealing With Global Financial Crisis - Editor, 17 November 2008 - No Comments yet
- New Mortgage-Related Assistance May Bring Relief To U.S. Homeowners - Editor, 12 November 2008 - No Comments yet
Friday’s U.S. stock market gains fueled hopes that the market may finally be bottoming out. While analysts are divided as to whether this is so, it certainly appears that investors are becoming somewhat accustomed to bad news and are trading anyway. At one point in Friday’s trading session the Dow was down 257 points, but rallied and ended the session with a gain of 3.1 percent, or 259 points to 8,635. The S&P 500 rose 3.7 percent, while the Nasdaq added 4.4 percent. The five-day decline for the Dow, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq was 2.2 percent, 2.2 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.
Confirming the general view that U.S. stock markets will continue to be volatile for some time yet, Tuesday saw a rally on Wall Street with the Dow Jones industrial average gaining 3.3 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 climbed 4 percent and the Nasdaq composite index rose 3.7 percent. This follows Monday’s percentage losses of 7.7 for the Dow, 8.9 for the S&P 500 and 9 percent for the Nasdaq composite. The three major U.S. automakers were the center of attention throughout the session, which saw stocks rallying sharply in the early afternoon, only to drop back and then rally through the close.
Traditionally many retailers have viewed Black Friday as the means to pull them out of the red and into the black financially speaking (hence the name), but this year Black Friday is generally being viewed with trepidation as analysts predict that cash strapped Americans will be carefully considering every dollar they spend. Retailers throughout the U.S. have battled through a difficult year, with many going out of business or declaring bankruptcy, so Black Friday has now more than ever before become a light at the end of a long dark tunnel for many businesses relying on consumer spending to keep them going.
Markets in the United States and around the world rallied on Monday, which many see as an endorsement of Barack Obama’s choice for his administration’s economic team. The additional government bailout package for banking giant Citibank also contributed to the spirit of optimism reflected in Monday’s stock market activity. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 4.9 percent, the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 6.4 percent and the Nasdaq composite index rose by more than 6 percent. For the Dow and S&P 500, the two-day percentage gain was the biggest experienced since October 1987, while the point gain over the two trading days was the biggest ever.
As anticipated by many analysts, stock market volatility is far from over. U.S. stock markets dropped dramatically on Wednesday as concerns relating to the economy, highlighted by the uncertainty of the future of the U.S. auto industry, caused investors to dump stock near close of trade, erasing Tuesday’s gains. The Dow Jones industrial average closed below the 8,000 mark, a state of affairs which has not been seen since March 2003. The Dow was down 5.1 percent, with all 30 Dow components ending the session lower. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index sank 6 percent, also its lowest level since March 2003, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 6.5 percent, settling at it lowest level since April 2003.
While acknowledging that plenty of work lies ahead for world leaders, the two-day G-20 summit held in Washington, D.C., over the weekend is being hailed by the majority as a success. The presidents and prime ministers of the G-20 countries managed to find common ground on the root causes of the crisis, as well as identifying areas that need to be tightened up. A meeting has been set for the end of April 2009 for a review of progress on the various aspects of the game plan agreed to on the weekend.
On Tuesday, the Bush administration made public a new program aiming to modify mortgages and set back on track the U.S. real estate market. However, experts in the financial sector have been quick to point out that the program is flawed and does not benefit homeowners to the extent that it should, given the current economic crisis.
Recent Videos
- Video: Tapping TARP - Wednesday 7 January 2009, 2:23 am
- Video: Burris Is Denied Senate Seat; Franken Up By 225 Votes; Coleman Sues Over Minnesota Recount Results - Wednesday 7 January 2009, 2:18 am
- Video: How To Stimulate The Economy; Stimulus: Spending Or Tax Breaks?; Debate Over Taxes; Obama & The Economy - Wednesday 7 January 2009, 2:03 am
- Video: In-Depth Look: Richardson Probe Deepens - Tuesday 6 January 2009, 9:45 pm
- Video: Final Word - Market Close 1.6 - Tuesday 6 January 2009, 8:59 pm
Recent Articles
- Likelihood of Big Three Bailout Boosts U.S. Markets - Editor, Wednesday 3 December 2008
- Will Black Friday Rescue U.S. Retailers? - Editor, Friday 28 November 2008
- Monday’s Stock Market Rally Seen as Endorsement of Obama’s Economic Team - Editor, Tuesday 25 November 2008
- Stock Markets Dive As Investor Anxiety Grows Over State Of Global Economy, U.S. Automakers and Oil Prices - Editor, Thursday 20 November 2008
- G-20 Summit Agrees On Direction For Dealing With Global Financial Crisis - Editor, Monday 17 November 2008
Recent Comments
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- 25 April 2008, 12:58 am: By asiaconsult - The ‘No Comment’ Clue to Mortgage...
- 24 April 2008, 02:21 am: By Investa - How Your Financial Planning Can Benefit...
- 23 April 2008, 04:56 am: By Mint - A Stock on Which You Can Bank










