2018 Archive: The Week In Review

December 31, 2018

The trading session is over and so is the tumultuous 2018 that gripped the stock market. The S&P 500 (+0.9%), Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.2%), and Nasdaq Composite (+0.8%) pared yearly losses to 6.2%, 5.6%, 3.9%. The Russell 2000 (+0.8%), for its part, reduced its yearly loss to a disappointing... Read More

December 28, 2018

  The S&P 500 lost 0.1% on Friday in what was another whipsaw day of trading that saw the S&P 500 up as much 1.3% at its high and down as much as 0.6% at its low. The benchmark index finished a remarkably volatile, and history-setting, week with a... Read More

December 21, 2018

  The S&P 500 fell 2.1% on Friday, as uncertainty surrounding a host of issues, which included politics and trade, continued to provide a justification to reduce risk. Friday's decline pushed the benchmark index to a new yearly low of 2408.12 and a weekly loss of 7.1%. The Dow... Read More

December 14, 2018

  The S&P 500 fell 1.9% on Friday to extend its monthly loss to 5.8%. Friday's sell-off was a function of poor sentiment driven by global growth concerns and a continuation of weak price action.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.0%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.3%, and the... Read More

December 7, 2018

    The S&P 500 is down 0.6%, as uncertainty surrounding trade, growth prospects, the path of interest rates, and geopolitics has diminished investor confidence and fueled risk reduction efforts that are hitting stocks. The benchmark index has been able to recoup a good chunk of its intraday losses, though, after... Read More

November 30, 2018

The S&P 500 finished strong with a gain of 0.8% on Friday to conclude one of its best weeks of the year. Investors turned their attention to the highly-anticipated G-20 Leaders Summit in Argentina, where U.S. President Trump and China President Xi are expected to take the main stage at... Read More

November 30, 2018

The S&P 500 finished strong with a gain of 0.8% on Friday to conclude one of its best weeks of the year. Investors turned their attention to the highly-anticipated G-20 Leaders Summit in Argentina, where U.S. President Trump and China President Xi are expected to take the main stage at... Read More

November 23, 2018

  The S&P 500 lost 0.7% on Friday in what was a shortened, low-volume trading day on Wall Street. Friday's volatile session extended the benchmark index's weekly losses to 3.8%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.7%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.5%, and the... Read More

November 16, 2018

  [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 chipped in a 0.2% gain on Friday after President Donald Trump again signaled China's desire to make a deal on trade. Disappointing guidance from chipmakers, however, kept gains in check. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5%, the Nasdaq... Read More

November 9, 2018

  The S&P 500 lost 0.9% on Friday, with the pullback suggesting a natural consequence of an overreaction to this week's election spike. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.8%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.7%, and the Russell 2000 lost 1.8%. For the week,... Read More

November 2, 2018

  Stocks fell on Friday following conflicting U.S.-China trade reports and softer-than-expected sales guidance from Apple (AAPL 207.48, -14.74, -6.6%). Futures rallied overnight on a Bloomberg report indicating U.S. President Trump asked his cabinet to draft a trade deal, but stocks eventually fell into negative territory after... Read More

October 26, 2018

The S&P 500 lost 1.7% in a volatile session on Friday, in which it never touched positive territory. Disappointing earnings reports from Amazon (AMZN 162.81, -139.36, -7.8%) and Alphabet (GOOG 1071.47, -24.10, -2.2%) rattled a fragile market pestered by peak-earnings concerns. The benchmark index briefly dipped into correction territory,... Read More

October 19, 2018

The S&P 500 closed Friday at its flat line, a fitting end to a flat week; the benchmark index ended just 0.02% above last Friday's close. The session began with a bang, with the S&P 500 adding as much as 1.0%, following a positive overnight performance from Chinese markets and... Read More

October 12, 2018

Stocks rebounded on Friday, recouping a good chunk of their weekly losses in a volatile day of trading. The S&P 500 added as much as 1.7% at the start of the session, but nearly wiped it all out intraday before rallying to finish higher by 1.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average... Read More

October 5, 2018

  The stock market fell on Friday as bond yields continued to climb following the release of the Employment Situation report for September. The S&P 500 and the Dow lost 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 1.1%. At its session low, the S&P... Read More

September 28, 2018

  Wall Street finished Friday little changed, securing big gains for the third quarter. The S&P 500 kept near its flat line throughout the session, closing just a tick below its unchanged mark. The Nasdaq and the Dow added 0.1% apiece. For the quarter,... Read More

September 21, 2018

  Wall Street had a mixed outing on Friday, with the underperformance of financial and technology shares balancing gains most elsewhere. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3%, closing at a new all-time high for the second day in a row. The S&P 500... Read More

September 14, 2018

The stock market saw limited movement on Friday, ending a positive week on a flat note. The S&P 500 (unch) settled just above its flat line, locking in a 1.2% gain for the week. The Dow (unch) and Nasdaq (-0.1%) also finished near their flat lines, ending the week with... Read More

September 7, 2018

  Stocks slipped on Friday, giving the bears a clean sweep for the abbreviated week, after the Employment Situation report for August showed a stronger-than-expected increase in average hourly earnings and after President Trump threatened yet another round of tariffs on Chinese goods. The... Read More

August 31, 2018

  Friday's trading session — the last session ahead of an extended Labor Day weekend — was an eventful one in terms of trade-related headlines, but a largely uneventful one for the major averages, which finished roughly flat. The S&P 500 (unch) added less... Read More

August 24, 2018

  Friday was a record-setting day for the stock market, with the S&P 500 (+0.6%) notching its first record close (2874.69) since January 26. The Nasdaq (+0.9%) also registered a fresh record finish, as did the small-cap Russell 2000 (+0.5%). The Dow (+0.5%) advanced, but... Read More

August 17, 2018

The S&P 500 advanced 0.3% on Friday, securing a weekly gain of 0.6%, helped by a Wall Street Journal report that Chinese and U.S. negotiators are planning talks to try to end their trade disagreement ahead of multilateral meetings between President Trump and President Xi in November. The Dow added... Read More

August 10, 2018

  A plunging Turkish lira sent shock waves through global equity markets on Friday, causing concerns over the financial health of lenders with heavy exposure to the economically-struggling country. The S&P 500 lost 0.7%, dropping into the red for the week (-0.3%), and the... Read More

August 3, 2018

Stocks added to their weekly gains on Friday as investors took the July Employment Situation report in stride, pushing the S&P 500 higher by 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.5% as well, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ticked up 0.1%. Small caps struggled though, sending the Russell 2000 lower... Read More

July 27, 2018

Stocks started Friday stable, but began tumbling in the afternoon, with tech shares pacing... Read More

July 13, 2018

  Stocks eked out a slim victory on Friday following a range-bound day of trading on lighter-than-usual volume. The S&P 500 (+0.1%) hit some technical resistance at the 2800 level, which it hasn't been able to conquer since early February. The Dow Jones Industrial... Read More

July 6, 2018

Apparently, a trade war started on Friday — or so it was said — yet the stock market acted as if there was a daisy stuck in the barrel of every trade threat.  For the second day in a row, the stock market ignored the trade conflict between the U.S.... Read More

June 29, 2018

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June 22, 2018

The S&P 500 ended the week on a positive note by advancing 0.2% on Friday. Energy shares led the broad-based rally thanks to a spike in oil prices, which surged to a four-week high as OPEC wrapped up its latest summit in Vienna. However, financials, technology, and consumer discretionary... Read More

June 18, 2018

  U.S.-China trade tensions weighed at the start of Monday's session, but sentiment eventually improved, allowing stocks to escape with just minor damage. The benchmark S&P 500 index finished with a loss of 0.2%, but was down 0.8% at the opening bell. As for the... Read More

June 11, 2018

  The major averages ticked up between 0.1% and 0.3% on Friday, extending their weekly gains to 1.2%-2.8%. Stocks opened modestly lower as technology shares weighed, but the consumer staples and health care sectors helped turn things around later in the session. The day... Read More

June 1, 2018

  The month of May might have ended with a whimper, but the month of June started with a bang.  Driven by an easing of the political tension in Europe and another employment report out of the U.S. that produced strong job growth, modest... Read More

May 25, 2018

  The stock market ended Friday on a mostly lower note, but managed to keep in positive territory for the week. The S&P 500 declined 0.2% on Friday, closing the week higher by 0.3%. The Dow also dropped 0.2% on Friday, trimming its weekly... Read More

May 18, 2018

  Stocks were range-bound on Friday, drifting near their flat lines from open to close. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended with losses of 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively, while the Dow eked out a very slim victory, adding less than 0.1%. Small caps... Read More

May 11, 2018

  Equities ticked higher on Friday, locking in big gains for the week, as a positive performance from the health care sector narrowly outweighed a modest pullback from the information technology group. The S&P 500 and the Dow added 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively, while... Read More

May 4, 2018

  U.S. equities rallied on Friday following the publication of the monthly jobs report, with technology names leading the charge — including Apple (AAPL 183.83, +6.94), which rallied 3.9% after Warren Buffet revealed his company, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B 195.64, +4.03), bought an additional... Read More

April 27, 2018

  The major averages ended Friday little changed despite strong earnings reports from Amazon (AMZN 1572.62, +54.66), Microsoft (MSFT 95.82, +1.56), and Intel (INTC 52.73, -0.32) — three high-profile names that helped pace last year's rally. The S&P 500 finished a... Read More

April 20, 2018

Stocks retreated for the second day in a row on Friday, with shares of tech giant Apple (AAPL 165.72, -7.08, -4.1%) falling sharply. The S&P 500 lost 0.9%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 1.3%, but all three major averages managed to... Read More

April 13, 2018

Stocks slipped on Friday, ending a positive week on a disappointing note, as some geopolitical angst prompted investors to take some money off the table ahead of the weekend. The S&P 500 declined 0.3%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.5% — trimming their... Read More

April 6, 2018

The stock market closed the week on a decidedly lower note, falling victim to fears about potential trade wars, the Federal Reserve's tightening bias, and the specter of earnings growth not living up to this year's high expectations.  The Dow, Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Russell 2000 declined between 1.9% and... Read More

March 29, 2018

  Technology shares rebounded on Thursday, leading a broad rally on Wall Street, as investors kicked off the extended Easter weekend on a positive note. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.6% to 7063.44, the S&P 500 climbed 1.4% to 2640.87, and the Dow Jones Industrial... Read More

March 23, 2018

Stocks dropped again on Friday, piling on losses for the week; the S&P 500 tumbled 2.1% to 2588.26, the Nasdaq Composite declined 2.4% to 6992.67, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.8% to 23533.20 — its worst close since November 2017. The three major indices finished the week with... Read More

March 18, 2018

  Wall Street wrapped up a disappointing week on a positive note on Friday, in what was a quiet and fairly range-bound session. The S&P 500 advanced 0.2%, breaking a four-session losing streak, while the Dow and the small-cap Russell 2000 added 0.3% and... Read More

March 9, 2018

  Stocks advanced on Friday, climbing steadily over the course of the session, as investors cheered the Employment Situation Report for February, which showed strong jobs growth while keeping inflation concerns at bay. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.8% to finish at a new record... Read More

March 2, 2018

Wall Street finished a disappointing week with a mostly positive outing on Friday. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finished with gains of 0.5% and 1.1%, respectively, largely thanks to a late rally that left the two indices at their best marks of the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.3%,... Read More

February 23, 2018

  Stocks rallied on Friday, turning what was a disappointing week into a modest success. The Nasdaq Composite led the charge, adding 1.8%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively. For the week, the three major... Read More

February 16, 2018

Stocks kept their weekly gains intact ahead of the extended Presidents' day weekend, finishing Friday's session little changed. The S&P 500 (unch) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.1%) eked out their sixth consecutive victories, while the Nasdaq Composite underperformed, finishing lower by 0.2%. For the week, the three major stock... Read More

February 9, 2018

U.S. equities reclaimed a nice chunk of their losses for the week on Friday in another volatile trading session. The S&P 500 gained 1.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.4% apiece. The small-cap Russell 2000 also rallied, climbing 1.0%. The S&P 500 covered a wide... Read More

February 2, 2018

The sky fell on Friday. Just kidding. The stock market just had a bad day—which has kind of felt as impossible as the prospect of a falling sky since the start of the year.   p style="margin:... Read More

January 26, 2018

  The equity market soared to new records on Friday, locking in its fourth consecutive week of gains. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.3% to 7505.77 (a new record), the S&P 500 climbed 1.2% to 2872.87 (a new record), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced... Read More

January 19, 2018

Stocks climbed to new records on Friday as a looming government shutdown proved no match for the new year rally. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.6% to 7336.38, the S&P 500 climbed 0.4% to 2810.30, and the small-cap Russell 2000 rocketed 1.3% to 1597.61. All three indices finished at new all-time highs.... Read More

January 12, 2018

  Stocks ripped to new records for the second day in a row on Friday, extending their fantastic start to 2018. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 0.9% to 25803.19, the S&P 500 jumped 0.7% to 2786.24, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7% to 7261.06.... Read More