Stocks closed a bit higher after flitting around breakeven on light trading for much of the day. Financials outperformed, while commodities suffered. Treasury bond yields hit their highest intraday level since June. End-of-year strangeness?
The Dow jumped skyward on Wednesday as stocks rallied around the globe on a stream of strong economic news, both abroad and in the U.S. A less anxious outlook for European sovereign debt also helped.
Stocks fell sharply Tuesday as investors fled riskier assets following an exchange of artillery fire between North and South Korea. Better news on U.S. economic growth was no match for the new worries, on top of Euro-jitters.
Stocks closed slightly higher Friday after fluctuating most of the session as some better-than-expected quarterly earnings helped offset anxiety over China's move to curb inflation.
On Thursday, stocks clawed back nearly of the week's prior losses. Lifting investors' spirits were an easing of concerns over Irish debt, GM's massive IPO and some surprisingly positive economic reports.
The Dow tumbled Tuesday as part of a global sell-off in stocks fueled by further speculation that China will hike interest rates to fight inflation and renewed worries over the wobbly finances of Ireland, Portugal and Greece.
The Dow surged nearly 200 points, while inflation fears propelled gold to another record close. The Institute for Supply Management said its services index rose to 53.2 last month from 51.5 in August. Economists had expected the measure to rise to 52.
Gold prices suffered their biggest one-day drop since early February after the European Central Bank's emergency funding programs suggested the Continent's financial system may not be as wobbly as initially thought.
Gold prices were essentially unchanged in early Wednesday trading despite a mixed bag of economic data.