After a rough opening session on Monday, stocks rebounded sharply on Tuesday. The Dow enjoyed a triple-digit gain after oil prices eased and bank shares bounced higher on the possibility of further dividend payouts and share buybacks.
Increasing violence in Libya caused oil prices to rise and stocks to fall 80 points to close at 12,090 on Monday. It didn't help that a Wells Fargo analyst also downgraded the semiconductor industry, sending shares of Intel down by 1.6%.
During a volatile week, stocks bounced between Mideast turmoil and generally strong economic reports. Even with the jobless rate's surprising drop, equities ended on a down note. Still, stocks eked out a tiny overall gain on the week. [Video]
The first trading day of the month is usually good to equities, but after a two-day respite, stocks went back back to broad-based declines. The sharp rise in oil prices overshadowed some encouraging corporate and economic news.
The market suffered its biggest swoon since August last week as chaos swept Libya and oil prices hit multiyear highs. With the geopolitical landscape uncertain for the foreseeable future, don't be surprised if stocks come under further selling pressure in the days ahead. [Video]
Gold bugs love bad news, and civil war in Libya, Africa's third-largest oil producer, couldn't have come at a better time. After dropping a hundred bucks in January, February's upheavals have pushed gold back within striking distance of nominal all-time highs.
Stocks fell sharply Friday as investors fled to safety amid disappointing economic data, mixed corporate earnings reports and escalating violence in Egypt. A soft start for equities only got worse as the day progressed. [Video]
Stocks closed sharply higher Monday with the Dow Jones posting a triple-digit gain as technology stocks rallied after Intel raised its dividend and expanded its share buybacks by $10 billion. The index last saw 12,000 in June 2008 -- on the way down.
Stocks closed broadly higher Wednesday after Portugal's government had no trouble in tapping global debt markets, helping ease European debt fears. The euro gained at the dollar's expense, which lifted a broad basket of commodities as well as U.S. equities.
Wall Street started the new year with a robust jump, helped by encouraging corporate and economic news that pushed the broad market to a 28-month high. The S&P 500 has now reclaimed nearly 90% of its losses from the bear-market bottom of March 2009.
Stocks closed broadly higher Tuesday, helped by more deal activity in the financial sector and upbeat earnings from the tech sector. After more than two years, the market has regained all its losses following the implosion of Lehman Brothers in September 2008.





