It was a wobbly week for stocks, with the Dow, Nasdaq, and the S&P ultimately enjoying some decent gains:
|
Index |
Week's Change |
Ending Value |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) | +142.36 [+1.17%] | 12,359.92 |
| Nasdaq | +69.07 [+2.65%] | 2,674.22 |
| S&P 500 | +20.21 [+1.61%] | 1,277.81 |
The market is caught in a struggle between some reasonably good economic data and the fear that we need to see much faster improvement, particularly in light of the ever-struggling eurozone.
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) gained an incredible 8.6% yesterday, as a positive jobs survey trickled in and reports emerged that officials working on a national foreclosure fraud settlement are considering allowing banks to apply mortgage restructurings as credits toward the $20 billion or so in penalties they were expected to pay. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) also rose 2.1%.
Besides banks, other cyclical companies like Alcoa and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) enjoyed a good week, on the backs of upbeat employment and manufacturing data. Chrysler, General Motors, and Ford (NYSE: F) reported strong December sales figures and expressed optimistic outlooks.
And today, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the economy gained 200,000 jobs and unemployment shrank to 8.5% in December. That's an impressive figure, but it'll take years to return to full employment.
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