The S&P 500 index fell 9 points, or 0.8 percent, while the Nasdaq composite fell 16 points, or 0.8 percent, signaling a disappointing end to a promising week, one that saw stocks rise to year-high levels, and then some.

Analysts say that the reason investors backed off at the end of the week stems from disappointing corporate results from several leading companies, with revenue results largely weak across the board and credit losses plaguing the financial sector. However, the long-term performance of the stock market is a promising sign that the economy is on its way to a full recovery, with the S&P 500 having gained 60.8 percent from its 12-year low on March 9 of this year.

Image: Flickr

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Dow Jones Dips Below 10,000

One of the leading culprits for lowering the confident in consumer spending was Lowe’s. The home improvement giant released a second quarter report on Monday that came in low on both profit and revenue. As a result, Lowe’s stock dropped more than 10% and soured many investors.

Most stock indexes were down between two and three percent. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 2% to finish Monday at 9,135.34. The Standard and Poor’s 500 finished at 979.73 — a drop of nearly 2.5%. Both the Nasdaq composite index and the Russell 2000 were down 2.8%. The Nasdaq index fell to 1,930.84, while the Russell 2000 fell to 548.18.

Stock markets around the world were also hard hit. Stock indexes in China, Japan, Britain, Germany and France all fell.

Shanghai Stock Market (Image: Flickr)

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Stock Indexes Drop Substantially on Monday

(Image: Flickr)

While the Federal Reserve “leveling out” comment doesn’t sound like high praise, it was actually about as good as could have been expecting. Many market experts thought that it was possible that the Federal Reserve could still say the U.S. is still looking for the bottom of the current economic hardship.

The major stock indexes were up between 1.2% and 1.8%. The S&P 500 jumped 1.2% to finish at 1,005.81. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 1.3% to end Wednesday at 9,361.61. The Nasdaq composite index finished at 1,998.72 — a jump of 1.5%. The Russell 2000 went up 1.8% to finish at 572.17.

Companies in the technology and financial industries were some of the strongest risers on Wednesdays. The home building industry also received some good news.

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Federal Reserve Upbeat, Stocks Jump

The Dow Jones industrial average was up to 9,370.1 — a jump of more than 1%. The Nasdaq index was up almost 1.5% to finish Friday over, 2,000. The Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 1.3% to finish the week at 1,010.5. The best news was seen on the Russell 2000, which rose to 572.4 — a jump of more than 2.5%.

The most common reason given for the improvement on the stock market for Friday were the better than expected job statistics. The Labor Department released news that the unemployment rate actually improved in July. That triggered a sense that the bottom of the economic trouble in the United States had finally been reached.

However, there are some experts who believe that the stock market has improved too quickly in recent months and that a downturn could be just around the corner. It’ll be interesting to watch in the forthcoming months to see if what we are experiencing is a true rebound or just a hiccup.

Stock Market (Image: Flickr)

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Stock Market Takes a Friday Jump

To reach that mark, the Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 2%. Other indexes showed similar improvement. The S&P’s 500 was up about 2.3% to finish Thursday at 976.30. The Nasdaq index was up to 1,973.60 on 2.5% growth, while the Russell 2000 jumped more than 3% to finish at 545.85.

Most market experts point to the positive United States housing market numbers as the main reason why the stock market reacted like it did on Thursday.

One of the biggest movers on the day was Ford. After posting a surprisingly large profit, Ford’s stock was up almost 10%.

Despite the good news for the Dow Jones industrial average, the index remains more than 5,000 off of its 2007 peak.

Wall Street was busy on Thursday (Image: Flickr)

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Dow Jones Industrial Average Passes 9,000

The Dow Jones industrial average fell about 2.6% to finish at 8,280.7. The S&P’s 500 dropped 2.9% to land at 896.4. The Russell 2000 was down almost 4% to 497.2, while the Nasdaq index was down 2.7% and finished at 1,796.5.

Why did the stock market suffer? Many experts are pointing squarely at the unemployment numbers. The United States Labor Department said that more than 465,000 jobs were lose in the month of June. With experts predicting about 360,000 job losses, that number was definitely worrisome.

With the nation’s unemployment rate rising from 9.4% to 9.5%, investors are worried that many industries simply won’t have the consumers necessary for a complete rebound.

With a forthcoming long weekend, it will interesting to see how the markets react once trading begins once again. Some experts are fearful that many investors will begin selling at a fast pace coming off of the long weekend.

Wall Street (Image: Flickr)

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Stock Market Suffers on Thursday

When all was said and done, the Dow Jones fell to 8,612.1 — a drop of more than 2%. The Nasdaq composite index was down 2.3%, while the S&P’s 500 index dropped 2.4%. The Russell 2000 index, which takes a broad look on the market, was down almost 3%.

The struggles in the United States weren’t too big of a surprise, especially after Europe and Asia began Monday on a sour note.

Other financial news on Monday was that the U.S. dollar strengthened, especially against the Euro. On Friday, one Euro was worth about $1.401. On Monday, one Euro dropped in value to $1.3806.

After a strong showing in March, the U.S. dollar had begun to weaken. This latest change could send it rallying in the other direction, according to currency experts.

U.S. Dollar rises against Euro (Image: Flickr)

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Dow Jones Takes Big Hit on Monday

While strong news from the national housing industry helped some stocks, a number of financial institutions saw their stock prices drop substantially. For example, Goldman Sachs fell $1.20, American Express dropped nearly $1.30 and JP Morgan was down by more than $1.60.

Tuesday wasn't a great day for American Express (Image: Flickr)

Overall, the stock indexes showed that the market moved in the right direction. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.2% to finish Tuesday at 8.740.9. The S&P’s 500 was also up 0.2%, while the Nasdaq index was up 0.4%. The major index with the biggest gain was the Russell 2000, which was up a full percentage point.

If the stock market can continue rising, all of the Dow Jones’ losses in 2009 will soon be recovered. As it is, the Dow Jones is down less than 40 points in 2009 after the last three months of gains.

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Stock Market Strong Despite Bank Struggles

For the day, the Dow Jones jumped 1.2% to finish at 8,500.3. The Nasdaq was up 1.3% to 1,774.3, while the S&P’s 500 jumped 1.4% to end the day at 919.1. An index of smaller public companies, called the Russell 2000, was up nearly 2% to 501.6.

While May was a good month for the stock market, it wasn’t quite as great as March or April. That said, since the rally began, the Dow Jones, Nasdaq and S&P’s 500 indexes are all up more than 29%.

Most stock market experts agree that June could see a lot of flat activity. A big gain in June would definitely surprise many experts. However, the there aren’t many predictions of the market tumbling back down to the depths we saw a couple months ago.

Wall St. (Image: Flickr)

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Stock Market Up Again, Positive May

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 1.5% on Thursday to finish the day at 8,292.1. The Nasdaq index was down nearly 2% to finish at 32.6, while the S&P’s 500 fell to 888.2 after a 1.7% drop. A fourth index, the Russell 2000, was also down around 1.7%.

Thursday wasn’t just a bad day in the United States. Overseas, indexes in Germany, England and France all fell by more than 2.5%.

As fear and nervousness rise, more and more investors are turning to gold in hopes of a low-risk investment. As a result, the price of gold reached its highest level in approximately two months.

Even with all the trepidation in the investment world, the stock market is still in much healthier position compared to just a few months ago.

Gold Bars (Image: Flickr)

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Investors Fearful, Stock Market Falls