Stocks mixed at end of big week
The floor of the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan. (March 15, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
It was a mundane end to an electrifying week on the stock market. Stock indexes wavered indecisively between small gains and losses Friday before closing mixed. Earlier in the week, the Standard & Poor's 500 and the Nasdaq composite indexes were on a tear, hitting levels that hadn't been reached in years.
On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 20.14 points to 13,232.62. The Nasdaq fell 1.11 points to 3,055.26. The broader S&P 500 index edged up 1.57 points to 1,404.17.
Despite Friday's losses, the three major indexes were all still up more than 2 percent for the week. The Dow had its first down day after seven straight gains, ending its longest winning streak since February 2011.
Investors were weighing competing reports about the health of the U.S. economy. A key measure of consumer sentiment came in lower than expected, and high gas prices continued to weigh down hopes about a recovery. On the plus side, prices for other goods, including food, stabilized.
Telly Zachariades of The Valence Group investment bank said the market appears to be on the upswing despite a few off days. "It's almost like today was a spring training game that ended up getting rained out," he said.-- AP
'His sacrifice made a difference': Gold Star mother honors son's memory Army Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, 22, of Bay Shore, was the first serviceman from Long Island killed in the Iraq War.
'His sacrifice made a difference': Gold Star mother honors son's memory Army Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, 22, of Bay Shore, was the first serviceman from Long Island killed in the Iraq War.
