U.S. stocks finished the first week of February on a negative note, led to the downside by the Dow Jones Industrial Average. This week, the Dow broke below the 10,000-mark, trading as low as 9,835.02 on Friday, its lowest level since November 5, 2009.
The equity index, however, managed to recover from a 167-point drop, closing the day in positive territory, up 0.1%.
What follows is a summary of this week's statistics on the markets.
First Week of February
- The Dow posted its weakest 1st trading-week in February since the week ending 2/3/06, when it fell -1.04%
- The S&P posted its weakest 1st trading-week in February since the week-ending 2/3/06, when it fell -1.53%
- The NASDAQ posted its weakest 1st trading-week in February since the week-ending 2/3/06, when it fell -1.81%
Since the Peak
- The Dow is off by -4,152.30 or -29.31% from the market peak on October 9, 2007 of 14,164.53
- The S&P is off -498.96 or -31.88% from the market peak on October 9, 2007 of 1,565.15
- The NASDAQ is off -718.00 or -25.11% from its 6-year high reached on October 31, 2007 of 2,859.12
Since the Bottom
- Since the March lows, the NASDAQ is leading the way with a gain of 68.78%, followed by the S&P and Dow 57.60%, up % and 52.93%, respectively
Equities Metrics
- 19 of the Dow 30 components finished down for the week, while only 11 companies closed up
- 321 out of the 500 (~64%) S&P components closed down for the week, while ~35% increased, and 1 company finished flat
- 46% of the NASDAQ 100 components fell for the week, while 53% closed up, and 1 company was unchanged.
S&P 500
Sector Impact: 8 out of 10 sectors closed the week in negative territory, led to the downside by utilities and health care stocks. Basic material and technology stocks managed to post a gain this week, up 0.83% and 0.72%, respectively.
- Utilities were hurt this week by AES Corp. (AES), down 7%
- Materials were helped by Airgas (ARG), up 44%
- Year-to-date, 10 out of 10 sectors continue to trade in the red, led by Telecom, down 10%
