YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Weekly
Recap - Week ending 18-Nov-11
Stocks slogged along for
almost the entire session. They ultimately finished flat. The lack of action
made for an unexciting finish to the stock market's worst week in more than a
month.
Premarket posture was
positive. Participants responded to the stabilization of yields on the debt of
such trouble spots as Spain and Italy, renewed strength in the euro, and a
climb by Europe's bourses from their session lows. Buying in Europe eventually
lost momentum, leaving the region's major averages to settle with varied
losses.
An absence of follow through
buying in Europe undermined this morning's improved tone. In turn, stocks
slipped at the open of U.S. trade and never really established a direction of
trade. Movement in the S&P 500 was partly limited because of resistance
near 1225 and support at the weekly low just beneath 1210.
Consistent with trade earlier
this week, stocks lacked a legitimate form of leadership. That said, financials
managed to put together their best performance of the week by advancing 0.5% as
a group. They still shed more than 5% for the week, though.
Tech stocks, which make up the
largest sector by market weight, lagged once again. With a 0.7% slide the
sector logged its third straight loss. Tech stocks collectively fell about 4%
this week.
The expiration of monthly
options likely added to the market's chop. Option-related trade helped inflate
share volume on the NYSE in the absence of market-moving corporate news and
economic data. Share volume on the Big Board still didn't break 1 billion,
though.
Action on Friday made for a
rather boring follow-up to the sharp losses suffered in the prior two sessions.
Those back-to-back declines combined for a drop of more than 3%, which made up
the bulk of the near 4% weekly slide suffered by stocks.
|
Index |
Started Week |
Ended Week |
Change |
% Change |
YTD % |
|
DJIA |
12153.68 |
11796.16 |
-357.52 |
-2.9 |
1.9 |
|
Nasdaq |
2678.75 |
2572.50 |
-106.25 |
-4.0 |
-3.0 |
|
S&P 500 |
1263.85 |
1215.65 |
-48.20 |
-3.8 |
-3.3 |
|
Russell 2000 |
744.64 |
719.42 |
-25.22 |
-3.4 |
-8.2 |
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