Dow ends 3rd losing week of year
Jeremy Stoppelman, second from right, Yelp co-founder and chief executive, gets a high-five during opening bell ceremonies of the New York Stock Exchange Friday. (March 2, 2012) Credit: AP
The stock market reached a couple of milestones this week -- the Dow hit 13,000 points and Nasdaq 3,000 -- but not much else.
Stocks crept lower Friday, and the Dow Jones industrial average turned in its third losing week of the year.
The Dow slipped 2.73 points to close at 12,977.57, and lost 5 points for the week. American Express Co. dropped 1.08 percent, the biggest fall among the 30 companies in the Dow.
The Nasdaq composite index fell 12.78 points to 2,976.19, a loss of 0.43 percent.
The Dow and Nasdaq fell below highs hit earlier this week. The Dow ended above 13,000 on Tuesday for the first time since May 2008. The Nasdaq broke the 3,000 level on Wednesday for the first time since 2000.
These round numbers mean little to professional investors, said Brad Sorensen, director of market and sector analysis at Charles Schwab. But the media attention they generate may lure Americans back into the stock market, he said, which could push indexes even higher.
"We're a little more surprised there isn't more enthusiasm given the run we've had over the last couple of months," Sorensen said. "The individual retail investor has been reluctant to participate, but we're looking to them to fuel the next leg of this rally."-- AP
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