An increase in the number of jobs and a rise in the price of oil helped lift the markets today. The Dow closed at a 2 month high as it broke through the 17,000 barrier and the S&P 500 hit the 2,000 mark.  For the week- oil finished up 9.5%. The February job’s report showed hiring was stronger than expected in February. There were 242,000 jobs added in February, far better than the 190,000 expected by economists. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.9 percent. However hourly earnings fell by 3 cents to $25.35, after rising by 12 cents in January. Wages were up 2.2% which is weaker than the 2.5% gain in January.

The Volatility Index (VIX) which measures fear on the market fear, fell today to its lowest level this year, but what does that really mean? Watch below.

Here are the final numbers from Friday, 3/4/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,006.77 (+62.87 / +0.37 %)

NASDAQ: 4,717.02  (+9.60 / +0.20 %)

S&P 500: 1,999.99  (+6.59 / +0.33 %)

On the penultimate trading day of the week markets wavered a bit before ending the day up marginally. Today marked the 3rd straight day of gains.  Oil finished down 9 cents, closing at $34.57 a barrel. Investors are also keeping their eyes on tomorrow’s Labor Department jobs report which is due Friday morning.  Reuters conducted a poll of the nation’s leading economists who say they expect jobs in the U.S. to have increased by 190,000 this past February. 151,000 jobs were added in January of this year.  Today the Labor Department reported productivity decreased 2.2 percent in non-farm business in the last quarter of 2015, while costs increased 3.3 percent.  Manufacturing productivity actually went down  0.7 percent as costs increased 3.2 percent.

Meanwhile, high-profile author and Yale University lecturer Vikram Mansharamani, told CNBC today that financial bubbles are bursting everywhere and it all started with China. See more below.

Here are the final numbers from Thursday, 3/3/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,943.90 (+44.58 / +0.26 %)

NASDAQ: 4,707.42  (+4.00 / +0.09 %)

S&P 500: 1,993.40  (+6.95 / +0.35 %)

The Federal Reserve released its most recent “Beige Book” today. The summary on current economic conditions by the Fed indicated that “economic activity has increased in most regions & consumer spending rose in most districts.”

The business activity snapshot further complicates the Federal Open Market Committee’s process of determining whether or not to raises interest rates again this year.  The prevailing thought is the Fed might consider taking on an additional rate hike this year.

As CNBC put it:

“As markets dipped and recession fears grew, the chance of the next Fed rate hike at one point was pushed into early 2018. However, that has reversed significantly over the past few days.”

See more below.

The markets also got a boost from another rise in the price of oil.  Crude finished up 26 cents, or 0.76 percent, at $34.66 a barrel- it’s best close since January 5th.

After yesterday’s big gains many expected the markets to drop today. USB’s Art Cashin explains why that didn’t happen.

Here are the final numbers from Wednesday, 3/2/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,899.32 (+34.24 / +0.20 %)

NASDAQ: 4,703.42  (+13.83 / +0.29 %)

S&P 500: 1,986.45  (+8.10 / +0.41 %)

“Super Tuesday” was truly a super Tuesday on Wall Street as the markets had big gains. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 348 points, while the The Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 46 points and the NASDAQ composite rose 131 points. The recent stock market gains and positive economic data have investors feeling like the Fed might consider raising interest rates again this year. Watch more from CNBC below.

Here are the final numbers from Tuesday, 3/1/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,865.50 (+348 / +2.10 %)

NASDAQ: 4,689.95 (+131.52 / +2.90 %)

S&P 500: 1,978.23 (+46.02 / +2.4 %)

On this “leap day” February 29, 2016 markets did not get the positive jump they were hoping for on this first day of the new trading week.  Bucking what has been the recent trend of “low oil equals low markets,” Wall Street suffered losses despite the fact that oil saw a rise in price of a barrel of crude.  Oil closed up 97 cents, or 3% percent, at $33.75 a barrel.  The Dow Jones industrial average briefly fell more than 100 points with Home Depot and UnitedHealth the biggest losers. In losing 32 points today the NASDAQ has now suffered it’s first 3 month losing streak since 2011.

Meantime, former U.S. Republican congressman and two-time GOP Presidential candidate Ron Paul told CNBC this weekend that the Federal Reserve has been propping up markets, and the U.S. economy has already entered a recession which is going to get worse. Watch below.

Here are the final numbers from Monday, 2/29/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,516.50 (-123.47 / -0.74 %)

NASDAQ: 4,557.95  (-32.52 / -0.71 %)

S&P 500: 1,932.23  (-15.82 / -0.81 %)

On a day when NJ Governor Chris Christie officially endorsed Donald Trump as the Republican Presidential nominee, markets struggled to gain any ground. The markets finished mixed on Friday but up for the week.  There was continued concern about the solvency of Puerto Rico after the island’s governor said he wants Congress to grant Puerto Rico Chapter 9 bankruptcy rights. According to money.cnn.com:

All 50 states have bankruptcy rights, but not Puerto Rico. It wouldn’t allow the island to declare bankruptcy, but it would enable cities and other municipal entities to do so. It’s the law Detroit used when it filed for bankruptcy in 2013. Under Chapter 9, a municipality has to show that it is close to broke and can’t pay its debt, and the bankruptcy court then allows it to reorganize. Puerto Rico says it will run out of money by this summer. It has already defaulted twice. The country’s economy is shrinking, and its population has dwindled by 440,000 in the past decade, making it even more difficult to generate enough tax revenue to pay the debt.

The other big news today was word that Wall Street has started cutting back on it’s outlook for growth this year.

See what CNBC’s “Squawk Box” had to say about it.

Here are the final numbers from Friday, 2/26/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,639.97 (-57.32 / -0.34 %)

NASDAQ: 4,590.47  (+8.27 / +0.18 %)

S&P 500: 1,948.05  (-3.65 / -0.19 %)

Another increase in the price of oil helped the market rebound from yesterday’s losses. Oil recovered from a sharp overnight decline to settle up 28 cents, or 0.88 percent, at $32.15 a barrel.

Compounding global economic concerns, however is the fact that the British pound is feeling pressure over whether the nation should remain in the European Union. The British currency is hovering at seven year lows against the dollar as investors try to hedge bets ahead of the upcoming vote on whether Britain should remain in the European Union. The currency fell to $1.3987, the lowest level since March 2009. The pound first began to drop after London Mayor Boris Johnson announced over the weekend that he would join the campaign to leave the EU.

Meantime, Voya Investment Management‘s Karyn Cavanaugh says the market won’t bottom-out until professional fund managers begin under-weighting stocks.

Watch below.

Here are the final numbers from Wednesday, 2/24/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,484.99 (+53.21 / +0.32 %)

NASDAQ: 4,542.61  (+39.02 / +0.87 %)

S&P 500: 1,929.80  (+8.53 / +0.44 %)

Poorly performing energy stocks and a significant drop in the price of oil made for a down day on Wall Street. U.S. crude oil dropped $1.52, or a fraction over 4.5% percent to finish the day at $31.87 a barrel. The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index fell to 92.2 in February, down from 97.8 in January. The Conference Board is an independent research organization that that serves as source of economic and business knowledge to help companies understand and deal with the most critical issues of our time.

Among the most critical issues the U.S. economy is facing today:

• Severe market volatility
• Plummeting oil prices
• China’s failing economy
• Prospect of negative interest rates.

BTIG Chief Technical Strategist Katie Stockton said-

“Our indicators suggest that the relief rally still has a hold on the market, but we expect overbought “sell” signals to unfold by Friday. With this in mind, we would consider taking down exposure into additional strength”

AS oil prices drop and fluctuate, who are the winners & losers?  Watch below.

Here are the final numbers from Tuesday, 2/23/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,431.78 (-188.88 / -1.14 %)

NASDAQ: 4,503.58  (-67.02 / -1.47 %)

S&P 500: 1,921.27  (-24.23 / -1.25 %)

After experiencing the first positive week of the year last week, the markets opened the first session of the new week today on an up note. The good day on Wall Street was led by the Dow, which at one point was up over 250 points. Shares of United Technologies spiked more than 6.5 percent following a CNBC report that United Technologies and Honeywell have been talking about a merger. The markets were driven by an increase in the price of oil which closed at $31.48 a barrel- up over 6% for the day.

But not everyone was optimistic as a CNBC report looked at two more signs that a recession could be coming. Watch below.

Here are the final numbers from Monday, 2/22/16 on Wall Street

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,620.66 (+228.67 / +1.39 %)

NASDAQ: 4,570.61  (+66.18 / +1.47 %)

S&P 500: 1,945.50  (+27.72 / +1.45 %)