"It was all about Ben Bernanke today," observed Senior Equities
Analyst Joe Bell. "When the Fed chairman's speech was released, the
market definitely felt a little jittery, as stocks fell off a
cliff. That didn't last long, though, as participants quickly
bought the dip and the market ended with a pretty nice day in the
black." At one point after the central banker's comments, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
was up more than 150 points.
Click through to see what else was on our radar today:
And now, a look at the numbers...
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,090.84)
climbed as high as 13,151.87 before lunchtime today, and held onto
a large part of this gain through the end of the session. By the
closing bell, the Dow added 90.1 points, or 0.7%. All but two of
the 30 components recorded victories today, with Intel
Corporation's (
INTC
) 2.3% rise leading the way. Meanwhile, Merck & Co., Inc. (
MRK
) and AT&T Inc. (
T
) dropped 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively. The blue-chip barometer
pulled back more than 0.5% for the week, but secured a 0.6% gain in
August. This also marked the Dow's highest monthly settlement since
April.
The
S&P 500 Index
(SPX - 1,406.58)
reclaimed a seat atop 1,400 today, adding 7.1 points, or 0.5%. On
the week, the SPX was held to a 0.3% loss, but leapt nearly 2%
during for August -- finding its best monthly close since
March.
Likewise, the
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,066.96)
gained 18.3 points, or 0.6%, but couldn't reach atop breakeven for
the week. The tech-rich index suffered a 0.09% weekly deficit. For
the past month, however, the COMP soared some 4.3%, notching its
highest monthly price since March.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index
(VIX - 17.47)
ended its four-session rise, and inched 0.4 point, or 2%, lower. On
the week, the market's fear gauge surged 15.1%, but buckled 7.7% in
August.
Today's highlight
: "We didn't get a formal announcement for QE3
and
the market still remained strong," said Bell. "With some people
claiming the rally is dependent on further actions, it's always a
good sign when the market rallies without any Fed actions."
Turning to today's major market stories...
For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head
to page 2.
Oil futures jumped on the heels of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke's acknowledgement that he is open to monetary easing. As
the dollar drifted lower, October-dated crude advanced $1.85, or
2%, to settle at $96.47 a barrel. Black gold added 0.3% on the
week, and more than 9.5% during the month.
Stimulus-related optimism from Jackson Hole, as well as a
weakened greenback, hoisted gold futures to their highest price
since late March. By the close, gold for December delivery tacked
on $30.50, or 1.8%, to end at $1,687.60 an ounce. This helped the
malleable metal to a weekly rise of 0.9%, and a monthly uptick of
4.5%.
Levels to watch in trading...
-
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,090.84)
- support at 11,500; resistance at 14,000
-
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,406.58)
- support at 1,100; resistance at 1,500
-
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,066.96)
- support at 2,400; resistance at 3,400
At the end of every market day, the staff at Schaeffer's
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