Market Week: May 7, 2012

Written by Ryan Sheppard | 07 May 2012

The Dow hit its highest point in more than four years on Tuesday, but it was basically downhill for equities after that as investors decided to take some of their year-to-date profits off the table in advance of key European elections over the weekend. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, Russell 2000, and Global Dow all had their worst week of 2012, and the Dow's 168-point loss on Friday gave the industrials their second worst week of the year. The selling helped the 10-year Treasury yield hit its lowest level since early February as prices rose. Meanwhile, oil prices slid below $100 a barrel, while gold reversed the previous week's gains, falling almost $30 back to $1,634.

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Market Week: April 30, 2012

Written by Ryan Sheppard | 30 April 2012

Solid corporate earnings from some key tech and consumer companies encouraged investors to ignore dicey economic reports and push the S&P 500 back above 1,400. Despite a late-week downgrade to Spanish sovereign debt and a less-than-encouraging U.S. gross domestic product report, even the Global Dow was in positive territory, while a stand-pat stance by the Fed allowed bonds to remain relatively stable.

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