U.S. Stocks Slip, Dollar Rises

U.S. stocks finished the week mixed, after reaching new highs for the year earlier on the week.  The NASDAQ Composite and S&P broke two weeks of consecutive gains, while the Dow posted a small gain of 0.46%.

• The Dow broke the 10,400-mark this week, trading as high as 10,438.17, its highest level since the week ending October 4, 2008
• The S&P 500 hit a new 2009 high of 1,113.69 this week, its highest level since the week ending October 4, 2008
• The NASDAQ Composite hit a fresh 2009 high of 2,205.32, its highest level since the week ending September 27, 2008
• Since the March lows, the NASDAQ is leading the way with a gain of 69.2%, followed by the S&P and Dow, up 61.3% and 57.6%, respectively

Index Impact:

Merk (MRK) had the most positive impact on the Dow and S&P, up 10.2% for the week
Year-to-date*, American Express (AXP) continues to be the top Dow performer by percent gain, up 120.7%
Chevron (CVX) had the most negative impact on the Dow, down 1.5% for the week
*YTD, Verizon (VZ) continues to be the worst Dow performer by percent loss, down over 10.2%
*YTD, Marshall & Ilsley (MI) is the worst S&P performer by percent loss, down almost 60.7%
DIRECTV (DTV) had the most positive impact on the NASDAQ, up almost 5.8% for the week
*YTD, the top S&P performer by percent gain is XL Capital (XL), up 386.5%
*YTD, the top NASDAQ 100 performer by percent gain is Seagate (STX), up 251.9%
Apple (AAPL) had the most negative impact on the S&P and NASDAQ 100, down 2.2% for the week
*YTD, the worst NASDAQ 100 performer by percent loss is Apollo Group (APOL) down 28.1%

Sector Impact: 6 out of 10 sectors closed the week in negative territory, led to the downside by Technology, Consumer Discretionary and Energy stocks.  Health care was the top performing sector this week, up 1.9%.

• Technology was hurt by Autodesk (ADSK), down 12.6% for the week
• Health care was helped by Merk (MRK), up 10.2% for the week
• Year-to-date, nine out of ten sectors continue to trade in positive territory, with technology leading the way, up 51.5%

Commodity Impact:Crude oil for December delivery closed at $76.72 per barrel on Friday, nearly unchanged for the week.
Silver was among the best performing commodities this week, posting a gain of 6.1%, while Orange Juice was among the worst performers, down 3%.

Gas Prices: The AAA current national average for regular gas is $2.642 per gallon, up 21.3% from a year ago when the average was $2.178 per gallon, as the spread between current prices and last year's record prices begins to tighten.
-The highest recorded average price by AAA was on 7/17/2008, when the national average was $4.114 per gallon

Currencies Impact:  The greenback rose for the second straight day on Friday as investors' risk-appetite diminished, leading higher yielding currencies, such as the Australian dollar,  to lose steam versus the greenback.

Commodity Impact:Crude oil for December delivery closed at $76.72 per barrel on Friday, nearly unchanged for the week.
Silver was among the best performing commodities this week, posting a gain of 6.1%, while Orange Juice was among the worst performers, down 3%.

Gas Prices: The AAA current national average for regular gas is $2.642 per gallon, up 21.3% from a year ago when the average was $2.178 per gallon, as the spread between current prices and last year's record prices begins to tighten.
-The highest recorded average price by AAA was on 7/17/2008, when the national average was $4.114 per gallon