U.S. stocks trade in a tight range on Friday after 4 days of gains
September 20th, 2011
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Many investors and traders were saying TGIF and trying to make it five days in a row for gains.
Stocks in the U.S. bounced up and down all day Friday. A short supply of economic data failed to sway markets one way or the other. However, eyes and ears were closely focused on comments from U.S. Treasury Timothy Geithner as he met with eurozone finance ministers and attempted to encourage solidarity among his European peers.
The week is set to close with impressive gains despite a week of less than impressive news. Reports showed retail sales were weak in August. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department was a reminder that unemployment remains high as weekly job claims increased. Mortgage rates hit another record low and show little signs of rising as the Fed mulls further stimulus to goose the ailing U.S. economy.
At 2 p.m. the Dow was up about 45 points. Shares of Research in Motion were a drag on the NASDAQ after weak sales were reported for their Blackberry device Thursday after the close. Shares of RIM were off almost 20 percent, trading down $5.81 at $23.91.
Gold, a safe haven against a falling dollar and risky markets, was up $19 after falling $45 on Thursday. At last check, the yellow metal was quoted at $1,809 an ounce. Silver, poor man’s gold, was up $0.72 to $40.63.
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Categories: Financial Stocks
