Market Close: Stocks Cap off Week of Gains, Euro, Oil Fall

ForexTV NewsDesk   |  September 16 2011 4:32 EDT

ForexTV.com (New York) by Dylan Tulic

U.S. equity markets capped off a week long winning streak on Friday after a day of choppy trading marked by quadruple witching – when contracts on index futures, index options, stock options, and stock futures all expire.

The Dow Jones Industrial Index rose by 75.91 points, or 0.66%, to 11,509.09. The S&P 500 gained 6.90 points, or 0.57%, to 1,216.01, and the NASDAQ Composite rose 15.24 points, or 0.58%, to 2,622.31. All of the indices posted roughly a 5% gain on the week.

Shares in BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) ended sharply lower, falling $5.61, or 18.99%, to close at $23.93, but pared its losses after opening the day down more than 23%. The fall came as a result of poor earnings announced Thursday afternoon that included news that the company’s PlayBook tablet shipped a mere 200,000 units after expecting to ship 562,000 units.

Crude oil fell by $1.44, or 1.61%, to $87.96 per barrel in a selloff spurred by news that consumer outlook had fallen to its lowest level in over 30 years. Gold recovered most of the ground lost on Thursday as it rose by $33.30, or 1.9%, to $1,814.70 per troy ounce.  

In Wroclaw, Poland, Tim Geithner joined a meeting of finance ministers from across the European Union as they gathered to try to determine the best way to tackle the European debt crisis. Geithner pressed his European counterparts to use leverage to increase the size of the European Financial Stability Facility, which was soundly rejected by the majority of the ministers in attendance.

The ministers also rejected calls for further fiscal stimulus, citing a lack of ability due to the crisis, and determined that a decision on whether or not to deliver the next €8 billion in funding to Greece will not be made until October in an attempt to get the country to more strictly adhere to the harsh conditions of its bailout. The euro slipped as a result, falling to 1.3788 against the dollar.

Next week, all eyes will likely be on the Federal Reserve, as the Federal Open Market Committee will commence a two-day meeting on Tuesday. Traders will be looking for a decision on whether or not the committee will engage in another round of asset purchases, or “quantitative easing,” or take other action to support recovery efforts. 

Forex research by ForexTV.com