U.S. stocks finished the week mixed, with the S&P and the Dow posting modest losses, while the NASDAQ Composite managed a gain of 0.98%.
What follows is a summary of this week's statistics on the markets.
Historical Averages
- Historically, December is the fourth best month for the S&P 500
- For the Dow, December is the second best month
- The best month for the S&P and Dow, on average, is April
- December is the best month for the NASDAQ Composite
New 2009 Highs
- The NASDAQ Composite hit a fresh 2009 high of 2,220.46, its highest level since September 22, 2008
Since the Bottom
- Since the March lows, the NASDAQ is leading the way with a gain of 74%, followed by the S&P and Dow 63%, up % and 58%, respectively
Sector Impact: 3 out of 10 sectors closed the week in positive territory, led to the upside by Information Technology and Energy stocks. Telecomms were the worst performing stocks this week, down 2.3%.
- Technology was helped this week by Sun Microsystems (JAVA), up 11.6%
- Telecomms were dragged by Sprint Nextel (S), down 8.6%
- Month-to-date, Utilities companies are taking the lead, up 6.2%
- Year-to-date, Technology stocks continue to be a among the best performing companies, up 55.7%