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 Settles Down;Tiger Doesn't

The stock market enjoyed its second straight rally Friday,allowing the S&P 500 Index to post a modest loss of 1.7 for the week,while the Dow dropped 1.5 and the NASDAQ 1.0,respectively.For the year,however,the S&P has lost a more serious 6.27,and the CBOE VIX Volatility Index is up an astonishing 104.85.
Indeed,2 trillion dollars of wealth has been lost so far this month.All the same,Friday's trading volume was considerably more normal at about 1.2 billion shares versus around 3 billion shares earlier in the week.Some portfolios were able to return to the black after the two good days in a row.
The S&P futures gained 8.30 Friday evening,hinting at a positive Monday opening.Oil futures were down 0.34 to 85.38 a barrel,while gold futures dropped 8.90 to 1742.60 an ounce.Bond index futures were mostly higher.
At the PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club,Tiger Woods failed to make the cut for that event for the first time in his career,along with Graeme McDowell,Martin Kaymer and Darren Clarke,among other notable golfers who couldn't handle the course.His weekend,and indeed his season,is over.The PGA Tour Playoffs will begin in a few weeks' time for those who do qualify.

Fear Returns To Market

It's been a while since fear stalked the trading floor,but that is just what happened on this one-headline Friday.With the Securities and Exchange Commission filing civil charges against Goldman Sachs,the thought of the day was just who would be next.The financial stocks are so central today,so critical to the market's welfare,any threat to them calls into question the recent rally.All of the largest firms fell big time in a session that saw the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index jump 15.54.The financials lost 44 billion dollars in value on Friday,while Goldman alone dropped 10 billion.
Nonetheless,even though the cold breath of fear breathed down traders' necks again,the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with a 0.2 gain for the week.The NASDAQ was up 1.1,but the S&P 500 stepped down 0.2 for the week.The futures gave little hope for the resumption of equities trading on Monday,with the S&P futures down 18.20and the Dow futures off a triple digit at -112,while Treasury futures rose in contrast.
Razorback fans were comforted as Arkansas took a 3-2 lead over the Georgia Bulldogs in college baseball,while some major league fans relaxed with Philadelphia leading Florida 5-1.
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