Monday stocks saw great volatility, starting the day up more than 100 points in the morning before beginning a slow decline that would last the rest of the day. Once again, uncertainty over oil prices was the culprit, and the Dow finished the day down 99 points.
Tuesday stocks started down again following news of the crumbling of Russian currency—known as the Ruble. But as oil prices began to fluctuate, stocks did the same. Volatility was the story as the Dow started the day down as much as 80 points, rebounded to a point where they were up 220 points by noon… but then turned south yet again! When all was said and done, the Dow ended down 111 points on the day.
Wednesday stocks rebounded early thanks in large part to a Consumer Price Index that reached its lowest rate in almost six years—meaning Americans are paying less for everyday goods. Investors were also banking on the Fed continuing to keep interest rates low, which they did by sticking to the “considerable time” phrasing, as related to an eventual interest rate hike. For the day, the Dow finished up 288 points.
Thursday stocks started out hot again, as the Dow went up by 200+ points in the first hour of trading off continued good feelings from the previous day’s Fed statement. After shedding nearly 1,000 points earlier in the month, the Dow rebounded with its strongest day of 2014, gaining 421 points on the day.
Friday saw the markets stabilize early, but as oil prices went up later in the day, the Dow followed. Wall Street continued to show concern over retail figures, as Nike posted disappointing figures for future orders. After the roller-coaster ride earlier this week, Friday turned out to be relatively quiet. By the end of the day, the Dow closed up 26 points.
Here were the final numbers on Wall Street for Friday, along with the percentage figures for the week:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,804.80 (+3.03%)
NASDAQ: 4,765.38 (+2.40%)
S&P 500: 2,070.66 (+3.41%)
