As we head into the final stretch of 2015, this stock market performance history hints at what's coming before 2016.
Key is how the S&P 500 Index closes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
By Diane Alter, Contributing Writer, Money Morning -
As we head into the final stretch of 2015, this stock market performance history hints at what's coming before 2016.
Key is how the S&P 500 Index closes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
By Diane Alter, Contributing Writer, Money Morning -
As we head into the final stretch of 2015, this stock market performance history hints at what's coming before 2016.
Key is how the S&P 500 Index closes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
Here's what to expect for the rest of the year and why....
By Kyle Anderson, Associate Editor, Money Morning • @KyleAndersonMM -
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has been viewed as a barometer for the U.S. stock market's performance since it was created on May 26, 1896.
It's the most widely recognized stock market index in the world, and is almost always referenced when analysts and investors mention discuss the "stock market" in any form.
By Diane Alter, Contributing Writer, Money Morning -
U.S. equities marched higher - by a smidge - in the stock market today, one day after benchmarks logged fresh records.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 15,464.07, up 3.15 points, or 0.02%. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ended at 1,680.19, up 5.17 points, and the Nasdaq closed at 3,600.08, up 21.78 points.
By Diane Alter, Contributing Writer, Money Morning -
A sense of calm appeared to settle over the stock market today - one day after the Dow's worst of the year. The Dow was up nearly 90 points near the close Friday.
Gold prices, pushed below $1,300 an ounce Thursday, its lowest level in some two-and-a-half years, also bounced back Friday.
Equity and commodity markets sold-off Wednesday and Thursday on worries the U.S. Federal Reserve could begin winding down its market supportive stimulus program later this year.
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, who dissented against the FOMC meeting decision Wednesday, said in a statement Friday the central bank "should have more strongly signaled its willingness to defend its inflation target" and shouldn't have given Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke the authorization to provide an approximate timetable to end easing.
Bernanke's comments are indeed blamed for the stock market's steep two-day drop.
The Dow plunged 354 points, 2.3%, Thursday to close at a seven-week low. Over Wednesday and Thursday, the Dow shed 560 points, the blue chip index's biggest drop since November 2011. The CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX) soared 23% Thursday, above 20 and a fresh 2013 high.
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