Experts described the U.S. stock market as ‘under pressure’ Friday morning, coming off a fifth consecutive losing session Thursday.
The Swiss National Bank shocked everyone Thursday by announcing they would discontinue a three-year cap on their own currency—the Swiss franc—against the Euro. With the possibility of quantitative easing-type programs beginning throughout Europe later this month, the Swiss bank’s decision just adds another ingredient of uncertainty to the mix.
Back here at home, U.S. markets suffered yesterday off of disappointing jobless claims numbers. The S&P 500 closed under 2,000 for the first time in a month. Today marks Wall Street’s last chance this week to stop the bleeding.
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index was up four points from December’s reading, but the market reaction was muted. Oil rose in early trading to almost $48 per barrel.
As of 10:45 a.m. Friday, here are the Wall Street numbers:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,326.23 (+5.52)
NASDAQ: 4,585.16 (+14.34)
S&P 500: 1,997.77 (+5.10)
