U.S. Stocks Post Second Week of Gains in the Year

Published: Friday, 12 Feb 2010 | 6:18 PM ET Text Size By: Gina Francolla, Marc Briganti, Giovanny Moreano

U.S. stocks snapped four weeks of consecutive losses, led to the upside by the NASDAQ Composite, posting a gain of 1.98%. This week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed below the 10,000-mark, its lowest level since November 4, 2009. However, all three major equity indices recovered some of the earlier losses in the week, posting their second week of gains in 2010.

What follows is a summary of this week's statistics on the markets.

Equity Metrics

20 of the Dow 30 components finished up for the week, while 9 companies closed down, and Exxon (XOM) finished flat
332 out of the 500 (~66%) S&P components finished up for the week, ~33% increased, and 1% was unchanged
76 of the NASDAQ 100 components rose for the week

Since the Peak This Year

The Dow is off by -626.29 points, or -5.8% from its highest close of the year (a 15-month high) reached on 1/19 of 10,725.43
The S&P is off by -74.7 points, or -6.5% from its highest close of the year (a 15-month high) reached on 1/19 of 1150.23
The NASDAQ is off by -136.87 points, or -5.9% from its highest close of the year (a 16-month high) reached on 1/19 of 2320.4
Since the March Lows

Since the March lows, the NASDAQ is leading the way with a gain of 72.12%, followed by the S&P and Dow 58.97%, up % and 54.25%, respectively

S&P 500

Sector Impact: 8 out of 10 sectors closed the week in positive territory, led to the upside by basic material stocks. Utility stocks fell the most this week, down 0.87%.

Materials were helped by Cliff Natural Resources (CLF), up 10%
Utilities were hurt this week by FirstEnergy (FE), down 6%
Year-to-date, 10 out of 10 sectors continue to trade in the red, led by Telecom, down 10%.

Commodity Impact: Crude oil for March delivery snapped a four-week losing streak, closing at $74.13 per barrel on Friday, up $2.94, or 4.13% for the week.

Copper recovered some of last week's losses, gaining 7.9% this week, while milk futures dropped the most, -2.3% for the week.