THE FINAL NUMBERS
NEWS: Did you think we would end the week on a quite note? Another rollercoaster ride for investors today that included a big gain off the open, followed by a mid-day drubbing, and finally a late day rally. When the closing bell rang all the major averages were in the green. The Dow gained 27 points or 0.2%, the S&P 500 added 1 point, and the tech-driven NASDAQ bounced 15 points or 0.6%. For the week the NASDAQ led with a gain of 0.2%, followed by red numbers for its peers. The Dow dropped 1.5%, S&P 500 fell 1.7%, and the Russell 2000 gave back 2.9%.
THE BOTTOMLINE: It was a battle today between the downtrodden financials (led by an 8% decline in MER) and a healthy jobs report. It was a back and forth affair, with the jobs report winning a split decision as the closing bell rang. Today is a great example of the fa ...