Friday’s Stock Market Recap: An Optimistic Finish To A Negative Week

Markets sprinted into the green after reacting to the news that President Elect Obama is planning to give the job of Treasury Secretary to New York Federal Reserve Bank chief Timothy Geithner. After a tumultuous week of heavy losses, markets seemed to take very nicely to the news. The Dow (^DJI) went up 6.54% during Friday’s trading session and finished off at 8,046 points. The Nasdaq (^IXIC) finished at 1,384 and rose by 5.18%. S&P (^GSPC) also traded positive closing at 800 points, and gained 6.32%. Overall for the week the Dow lost 5.3%. The Nasdaq lost 8.8%, and the S&P lost 8.4% this week.

News of a new Treasury Secretary was greeted well by Wall Street today, as many feel Geithner is a good candidate to help markets return to normalcy. Geithner has been with the Treasury for about twenty years now. He has also worked with Hank Paulson during the past few months to plan the bailout.

Light, Sweet Crude closed today at $49.93 a barrel. The current price is approximately down 66% from its summertime high of $147.

A few days after announcing major job cuts, Citigroup (C) is dominating headlines again. This time it has to do with their share price falling under $4 dollars. Fears about the financial giant’s ability to continue business without an asset sale or possibly a merger ran through the markets on Friday. The bank’s board of directors is scheduled to meet today to and decide on possible actions to be taken.

Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) which has performed well in past times of economic hardship, and this current slowdown is no different. With the idea of a quick and cheap meal, consumers are relying on Campbell’s products more often these days. They control about 70% of the soup market, and plans to beat earnings estimates by 6 cents this quarter.

Apparel retailer Gap (GPS) reported solid earnings for the third quarter of $0.35 compared to the expected earnings between $0.33 and $0.35. Gap attributes these earnings to lower inventory costs and cost cutting. Shares of Gap enjoyed a 6% rise today.

It was an optimistic finish to week that spewed negativity and fear. Next week markets will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving.

Disclosure: None

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