Week In Review (Newsletter 29/8-2/9/2011)

The market Stocks rallied Monday, following a trifecta of positive news: A Greek bank deal, a solid U.S. consumer spending report and relief that Hurricane Irene caused less damage than expected. The Dow Jones industrial average added 254 points to close at 11,539. The S&P 500 rose 33 points to 1,210. The Nasdaq Composite gained 82 points to 2,562.   Early Tuesday morning, investors were spooked by a report that showed consumer confidence sunk to its lowest level in more than two years. All indices closed the day in positive territory. The Dow Jones industrial average moved up 20 points to 11,559.95. The S&P 500 rose 3 points to 1212.92; while the Nasdaq added 14 points to 2576.11. Stocks got a bit of a late-day bounce from the release of the Federal Reserve minutes. The minutes revealed that some members supported QE3. U.S. stocks advanced Wednesday, pushing the Dow back into positive territory for 2011 and capping a four-day winning streak that closed a volatile August. The Dow finished with a gain of 53 points 11613.5. AT&T shed 3.9%, to 28.48, after the U.S. Justice Department filed a civil antitrust lawsuit that seeks to block AT&T's proposed takeover of T-Mobile. The S&P 500-stock index gained 6 points 1218.9, led by financial and utility stocks. The Nasdaq Composite eked out a rise of 0.1%, to 2579.46. Three batches of economic data helped set a positive tone for Wednesday's session. Despite the recent strength the major All three indexes had their worst August since 2001 after fears of an economic slowdown in the United States and debt issues in Europe put investors on edge. A four-day rally ended Thursday with a slump led by banks. Many investors sold stocks ahead of the monthly jobs report Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 119.96 points to close at 11,493.57. Markets rose shortly after the manufacturing report showed evidence of growth in August. Retailers rose after reporting strong sales last month, despite worries about the economy. The S.& P. 500 fell 14.47 points to 1,204.42. The Nasdaq fell 33.42 to 2,546.04. U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday after data showing zero jobs growth in August brought investors face-to-face with the prospect of another recession. The declines left Wall Street lower for the sixth week out of seven on a light-volume day ahead of the long U.S. Labor Day holiday weekend. Stocks had rebounded recently on expectations the Federal Reserve would introduce new stimulus to boost the sluggish economy. However latest reports show that action by the Fed alone cannot address the economy's problems.  Bank shares were again among the day's biggest losers after U.S. housing regulator filed a lawsuit against Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and other big lenders over mortgage practices. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 253.16 points, or 2.20 percent, at 11,240.41. The S&P 500 Index was down 30.46 points, or 2.53 percent, at 1,173.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 65.71 points, or 2.58 percent, at 2,480.33. Friday marked the S&P's biggest drop in two weeks. Despite the day's sharp decline, stocks were only modestly lower for the week. For the week, the Dow fell 0.4%, the S&P lost 0.2%, and the Nasdaq was flat. Quick Stats on world markets DOW opened this week at 11277 closing 37pts 0.4(%) lower at 11240 S&P 500 opened this week at 1175.10 closing 2pts  0.2(%) lower at 1173 USD Index opened this week at 73.77 closing 0.98pts 1.3(%) higher at 74.75 Gold opened this week at 1818.95 closing 57.95 dollars 3.2(%) higher at 1876.9 Oil opened this week at 85.38 closing 1.07dollars 1.3(%) higher at 86.45