The Dow added 498 points today, but it wasn't enough for a weekly win
Stocks finished the rough week on a high note, thanks to reassuring inflation data that took some sting out of the Fed's hawkish mid-week rhetoric. The Dow added nearly 500 points today, with Nvidia (NVDA) and bank stocks leading the rally. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also pared some of the damage, though all three major indexes still finished with weekly losses. As a low volume, holiday-shortened week approaches, Wall Street's "fear gauge," the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), closed back below 20 after a two-day spike.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Pharma stock plunges on lackluster drug trial results.
- Which software stock entered bullish seasonality.
- Plus, Buffett builds OXY; FedEx spins off; and more on the Dow's historic drop.
5 Things to Know Today
- Bitcoin (BTC) quietly slipped below $100,000 for the week. (CNBC)
- This natural gas exporter's initial public offering (IPO) could be huge. (Bloomberg)
- Warren Buffett doubles down on petroleum stock.
- FDX pops on spinoff news.
- Behind the Dow's historic week in the red.
Weekly Losses for Commodities Amid Fed Fatigue
Oil prices were quiet today and logged a loss for the week. February-dated West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude added eight cents, or 0.1%, to settle $69.46 per barrel. For the week, black gold shed 1.9%.
The encouraging inflation data sent the U.S. dollar lower and gold higher. For the session, gold for December delivery added 1.6% to settle at $2,647.90 an ounce. For the week, the safe-haven asset lost 1%, as Fed fatigue heads into 2025.