Investors Get a Mild Up Day After a Crazy Week

August 12, 2011 10:07 AM EDT
UPDATED: After market swings of 400 or more points Monday-Thursday of this week, market participants got just what they wanted on Friday - a quiet up day.

The Dow closed up 126, the Nasdaq added 15 and the S&P 500 gained 6.

Amazingly, the Dow closed down only 1.5 percent on the week - one of the most volatile in history.

This week brought many moving parts, including the first-ever downgrade of the U.S. AAA rating, which actually occurred late Friday but didn't impact U.S. markets until trading resumed Monday. S&P cut the U.S. rating by one notch to 'AA+,' saying the budget deal didn't do enough to address a dismal outlook for the financial system.

The Federal Reserve also issued it's policy statement this week and said it will likely keep the Fed funds rate "exceptionally low" through mid-2013. The move had widespread market implications, mainly in the bond market with Treasuries yields dipping lower. The Fed also ratcheted down it's U.S. growth expectations and said it is prepared to employ new easing measures to boost the economy.


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