2011 Market Wrap: Lackluster With Some Light

The stock market drew to its 2011 conclusion Friday,with the major averages down just over a half percent for the week.For the year,the bellwether S&P 500 Index was virtually flat,down a meaningless 0.003.You made no money on the broad market this year,but you didn't really lose any,either.
There were individual winners and losers,however.McDonald's was the biggest winner among the Dow 30,rising 31% on the year.The biggest loser in the Dow was Bank of America,losing more than half its value at -55%.Top-rated financials in the analysts' estimates are JP Morgan Chase,Prudential Financial and Wells Fargo.
The winning sectors for 2011 were utilities and consumer staples-clearly defensive areas.The biggest losers were the financials and materials-sectors dependent on a robust economy.The CBOE VIX volatility index was up a sharp 31.83% on the year,and trading volume was pretty uniformly thin.
The new year may well hold more of the same in store,with concern over European and American deficits,and the U.S. presidential election,dominating a headline-driven market.The S&P futures slipped modestly Friday evening,down 4.80%,and bond index futures gained.
McDonald's(MCD),Bank of America(BAC),JP Morgan Chase(JPM),Prudential Financial(PRU),Wells Fargo(WFC)

Market Disappointed,Oosthuizen Pleased

The market recorded a weekly loss,disappointed by a string of poor data on consumers and manufacturing,as well as revenue misses by leading companies.Google,General Electric,Citigroup and Bank of America discouraged investors with their sales and outlooks.Confidence is low as we enter the heart of earnings season,with 12 Dow components and 122 S&P firms reporting next week.The Dow dropped 1.0 this week,while the NASDAQ fell 0.8 and the S&P slipped 1.2.The trading range is indeed keeping its grip on the faltering market.
Tiger Woods is still in the running at the Open Championship in St.Andrews,Scotland.He shot a 73 on Friday for a -4,tied for fifteenth.The field was led by Louis Oosthuizen(pronounced Westhizen),27,of South Africa,a protege of Ernie Els,who is ranked #54 in the world and 22nd on the European money list.Oosthuizen shot a 67 for a -12 on Friday.Fifty year-old Mark Calcavecchia also shot a 67 on Friday for a -7,putting the American in second place.
The prospect of all those earnings reports,as well as housing data,had the Dow futures falling off a cliff at -233.00 this evening,with the NASDAQ following suit at -47.25 along with the S&P at -27.30.Bond futures also retreated.BP investors were feeling relieved as the latest attempt to cap the oil spill looked very promising.
General Electric(GE),Citigroup(C),Bank of America(BAC),Google(GOOG)
Update:Louis Oosthuizen continued to lead by several strokes in the final round,with the U.K.'s Paul Casey in second,as of Sunday morning Eastern.Tiger Woods had dropped to thirty-first.