DOW - Shrug Off Bad News and Gain for Week

Dow

12,220.59

+50.03

+0.41%

By: Abby Schultz, JeeYeon Park

Stocks snapped a two-week losing streak to post gains after several days of quiet trading in which stocks steadily rose higher despite despite unrest in the Middle East and Libya, debt troubles in Europe, a continuing nuclear disaster in Japan and mixed economic news in the U.S.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 50.03 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 12,220.59. For the week, the Dow gained 362.07 points or 3.05 percent. The blue-chip index remains down for the month, by 0.5 percent.


The S&P 500 gained 4.14 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 1,313.80. For the week, the S&P 500 rose 34.59 points or 2.7 percent.


The Nasdaq gained 6.64 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 2,743.06. For the week, the Nasdaq rose 99.39 points this week, or 3.8 percent, to close at 2,743.06.


The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, fell below 18. For the past seven days, the VIX fell 39.1 percent. The last time the VIX posted a similar decline was on Nov. 4, 2008, when it fell 39.7 percent, according to Reuters.