2014 Archive: The Week In Review

December 26, 2014

The stock market added to its holiday gain with a Friday advance that was paced by the Nasdaq Composite (+0.7%). For its part, the S&P 500 (+0.3%) climbed to a new record high at 2,088.77 with seven sectors ending in the green. Although the major averages posted decent-sized gains, the advance... Read More

December 12, 2014

The major averages ended the week on a broadly lower note with the S&P 500 registering its first weekly decline in more than two months. The benchmark index fell 1.6% to widen its weekly loss to 3.5% while the Nasdaq Composite (-1.2%) displayed relative strength, but still lost 2.7% for... Read More

December 5, 2014

The Dow (+0.3%), Nasdaq (+0.2%), and S&P 500 (+0.2%) ended the Friday session near their flat lines, allowing the benchmark index to register its seventh consecutive weekly advance. The S&P 500 added 0.4% for the week, while the Russell 2000 (+0.8%) outperformed to extend its weekly gain to 0.7%. Also... Read More

November 28, 2014

The stock market endured some post-Thanksgiving indigestion brought on by severe weakness in the energy sector (-6.4%). The S&P 500 (-0.3%) ended at its lowest point of the day while the Nasdaq (+0.1%) eked out a slim gain thanks to the absence of energy stocks within the tech-heavy index. Equities... Read More

November 21, 2014

The major averages ended an upbeat week with modest gains despite pulling back from their early highs. The S&P 500 gained 0.5% while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%) underperformed. The stock marketand specifically equity futuresdonned their party hats in the early morning hours after two major central banks spiked the punchbowl.... Read More

November 14, 2014

The stock market followed the script on Friday of making a big statement by doing very little. The major indices held to tight trading ranges and didn’t venture that far from where they began the session. The market’s meandering disposition was a function of offsetting considerations that it is due for... Read More

November 7, 2014

The major averages ended Friday on a quiet note with the S&P 500 (unch) locking in a 0.7% gain for the week. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq (-0.1%) spent the duration of the day in negative territory to end the week unchanged. This morning, the latest Nonfarm Payrolls report revealed the addition... Read More

October 31, 2014

The stock market finished the month of October with a broad rally that sent the S&P 500 higher by 1.2%. The benchmark index extended its October advance to 2.3% and ended at a fresh record high, while the Nasdaq Composite (+1.4%) outperformed to end October with a 3.1% gain. Stocks... Read More

October 24, 2014

The major averages capped a strong week with a rally that sent the S&P 500 higher by 0.7%. The benchmark index gained 4.1% for the week while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.7%) extended its weekly advance to 5.3%. Equity indices endured a shaky start with a handful of concerns factoring into... Read More

October 17, 2014

The stock market began the week on a defensive note despite showing some intraday strength. The S&P 500 lost 1.7% with all ten sectors ending in the red while the Russell 2000 (-0.4%) held up a bit better. Equity indices slumped in the early going amid weakness in groups that... Read More

October 10, 2014

The stock market finished a defensive week on a cautious note. The S&P 500 lost 1.2% while the Nasdaq Composite (-2.3%) lagged throughout the session. The two indices ended the week with respective losses of 3.1% and 4.5%. The key indices were pressured from the start amid big losses in the... Read More

October 3, 2014

The major averages finished a defensive week on an upbeat note. The S&P 500 gained 1.1% with nine sectors ending in the green. The rally helped the benchmark index narrow this week’s decline to 0.8% after being down near 3.0% at its lowest point on Thursday. Equities received a morning... Read More

September 26, 2014

Equity indices finished a cautious week on an upbeat note. The S&P 500 (+0.9%) and Nasdaq (+1.0%) reclaimed their 50-day moving averages, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.0%) was able to turn positive for the month (+0.1%). However, today’s rally did not feature the same conviction as yesterday with... Read More

September 19, 2014

The stock market finished an upbeat week on a mixed note. The S&P 500 shed less than a point, ending the week higher by 1.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.1%) cemented a 1.7% advance for the week. High-beta names underperformed, which weighed on the Nasdaq Composite (-0.3%) and... Read More

September 12, 2014

Equity indices extended this week’s losses with a broad-based retreat. The S&P 500 fell 0.6% to end the week lower by 1.1%, while the Russell 2000 (-1.1%) finished with a 0.9% decline since last Friday. Staying true to the theme observed throughout the week, the energy sector (-1.5%) tumbled out of... Read More

September 5, 2014

The stock market finished a cautious week on a modestly higher note. The S&P 500 added 0.5%, ending the week with a slim gain of 0.2%, while the Russell 2000 (+0.3%) shed 0.2% for the week. This morning, the Nonfarm Payrolls report for August revealed the addition of 142,000 payrolls, while... Read More

August 29, 2014

Equity indices closed out the month of August on a modestly higher note. The Russell 2000 (+0.6%) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.5%) finished ahead of the S&P 500 (+0.3%), which extended its August gain to 3.8%. Blue chips lagged with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.1%) spending the bulk of the... Read More

August 22, 2014

The major averages punctuated a solid week with a subdued Friday session. The S&P 500 shed 0.2% to narrow its weekly gain to 1.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.1%) displayed relative strength. The tech-heavy index finished the week in line with the benchmark average. Market participants went into today’s session... Read More

August 15, 2014

The stock market finished an upbeat week on a cautious note after a late-morning headline interrupted an extension of this week’s rally. Despite the intraday weakness, the major averages were able to climb off their lows into the close. The S&P 500 settled right below its flat line with six... Read More

August 8, 2014

The major averages finished the first full week of August on a strong note. The S&P 500 settled higher by 1.2% with all ten sectors posting gains. Thanks to the advance, the benchmark index added 0.3% for the week. Although stocks ended higher, the futures market was pressured overnight after... Read More

August 1, 2014

The stock market began the last week of July on a quiet note with the S&P 500 ending less than a point above its flat line. Like the benchmark index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.1%) also posted a slim gain, while the Russell 2000 (-0.5%) and Nasdaq Composite (-0.1%)... Read More

July 25, 2014

The stock market capped the trading week with losses across the major averages. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% to surrender its weekly gain, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.7%) and Russell 2000 (-0.9%) underperformed.The two indices posted respective losses of 0.8% and 0.6% for the week. Equity indices... Read More

July 18, 2014

Whatever concerns the stock market had on Thursday about the downing of a Malaysian Air passenger jet in eastern Ukraine and Israel’s ground assault in Gaza, they were quickly set aside on Friday. The major indices snapped back to bullish attention, riding the belief these developments would not evolve into... Read More

July 11, 2014

The stock market finished the Friday session on a modestly higher note, but the slim gains could not prevent the key indices from finishing the week in the red. The S&P 500 added 0.2%, trimming its weekly loss to 0.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.4%) finished the week with a... Read More

June 27, 2014

The major averages ended the Friday session on a higher note thanks to a final-hour rally that sent the indices to session highs. The S&P 500 added 0.2%, narrowing its weekly loss to 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite settled higher by 0.4% to bring its weekly advance to 0.7%. In general,... Read More

June 20, 2014

Equity indices pretty much ran in circles on Monday, having closed the session close to where they began. The indecisive nature was attributed to some worrisome-sounding headlines on the geopolitical front, yet the market action suggested it may have been owed more to a case of wait-and-see in front of... Read More

June 13, 2014

The major averages posted modest Friday gains, but the advance was not strong enough to pull the key indices back into the green for the week. The S&P 500 added 0.3%, narrowing its weekly loss to 0.7%, while the Nasdaq (+0.3%) ended the week lower by 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq... Read More

June 6, 2014

The major averages finished the first week of June on an upbeat note with small-cap stocks leading the charge. The Russell 2000 gained 1.0%, extending its weekly advance to 2.7%, while the S&P 500 added 0.5% to finish the week higher by 1.3%. Stocks spent the first 90 minutes of... Read More

May 31, 2014

The major averages finished the month of May on a mixed note. The S&P 500 added 0.2%, locking in a monthly gain of 2.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite (-0.1%) and Russell 2000 (-0.5%) lagged. The two indices narrowed their monthly gains to 3.1% and 0.8%, respectively. Outside of the relative... Read More

May 23, 2014

The stock market finished an upbeat weak on a strong note. Small caps paced the Friday rally, which was consistent with the dynamic observed throughout the week. The Russell 2000 advanced 1.1%, extending its weekly gain to 2.1%, while the Nasdaq (+0.8%) followed not far behind, finishing the week higher... Read More

May 9, 2014

The stock market finished a choppy week on cautiously optimistic note. The S&P 500 added 0.2% despite spending the bulk of the session in the red. The benchmark index narrowed its week-to-date loss to 0.1%, while the Russell 2000 (+0.9%) trimmed its weekly decline to 1.8%. For its part, the... Read More

May 2, 2014

The stock market finished an upbeat week on a cautious note as the major averages settled near their flat lines. The S&P 500 (-0.1%) shed less than three points, while the Russell 2000 (+0.1%) outperformed slightly. Interestingly, the bulk of today’s trading activity took place before 11:00 ET, while the... Read More

April 25, 2014

The major averages spent the last session of the week in a steady retreat despite receiving a round of better than expected earnings from the technology sector. The Nasdaq lost 1.8%, widening its April decline to 2.9%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.8%, swinging to a month-to-date loss to 0.5%.... Read More

April 17, 2014

The stock market ended the holiday-shortened week on a mixed note as the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.1%, while the S&P 500 added 0.1% with seven sectors posting gains. Equity indices faced an uphill climb from the opening bell after disappointing quarterly results from Google (GOOG 536.10, -20.44)... Read More

April 11, 2014

The stock market finished the week on a broadly lower note with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 enduring their worst week since 2012. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.3%, ending the week with a loss of 3.1%. For its part, the S&P 500 settled lower by 1.0% to end the week... Read More

April 4, 2014

The stock market finished the week on a lower note after equity indices spent the entire session in a steady decline from their opening highs. The Nasdaq led the retreat, falling 2.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-1.0%) and S&P 500 (-1.3%) registered smaller losses. Even though the major... Read More

March 28, 2014

The stock market finished a cautious week on a modestly higher note, but kept only a portion of its opening gain. The S&P 500 added 0.5%, trimming its weekly loss to 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.1%, finishing the week with a 2.8% decline. Emboldened by stimulus talk during... Read More

March 24, 2014

The stock market finished an upbeat week on a lower note with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite losing 1.0% while the S&P 500 shed 0.3% with four sectors ending in the red. Equities began the day on a strong note with no economic data to influence the trading sentiment; however, quadruple... Read More

March 7, 2014

The stock market finished an upbeat week on a mixed note. The S&P 500 added just under a point, holding its weekly gain at 1.0% while the Nasdaq lost 0.4%. The major averages began the day on an upbeat note, but relinquished their opening gains during the first 90 minutes... Read More

February 22, 2014

The major averages finished the mixed week on a lower note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both shed 0.2% while the Nasdaq slipped 0.1%. For the week, the Dow and S&P 500 posted respective losses of 0.3% and 0.1% while the Nasdaq added 0.5%. In some ways,... Read More

February 14, 2014

The stock market ended an upbeat week on a positive note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.8%) paced the advance while the S&P 500 gained 0.5%. The Nasdaq (+0.1%) lagged, but was able to finish at its highest level since late 2000. Today’s advance capped an impressive week during which... Read More

February 7, 2014

The major averages finished a shaky week on an upbeat note. The Nasdaq led the way, climbing 1.7% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 added 1.1% and 1.3%, respectively. Thanks to the broad rally, the indices managed to register weekly gains between 0.5% and 0.8% but small... Read More

January 31, 2014

The stock market ended a disappointing month on a lower note as the S&P 500 lost 0.7%, extending its January decline to 3.6%. The Nasdaq outperformed, falling 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.0%. Equities began the session sharply lower but a day-long rebound helped the major averages... Read More

January 24, 2014

Equities endured a rough end to the abbreviated week with the S&P 500 seeing its largest weekly loss since June 2012. The benchmark index fell 2.1%, extending its January decline to 3.1%. The market spent the entire session in a steady slide amid continued concerns regarding China. Furthermore, participants kept... Read More

January 10, 2014

The major averages ended the first full week of 2014 on a mixed note. The S&P 500 added 0.2% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed less than 0.1%. For the week, the S&P 500 gained 0.6% while the Dow slipped 0.2%. Prior to the open, it was reported that... Read More

January 3, 2014

The major averages wrapped up the week on a mixed note as the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% while the Nasdaq shed 0.3%. For its part, the S&P 500 ended flat. Today’s mixed finish was an appropriate reflection of a session that featured some mixed signals. On that note,... Read More