Wall Street closed on the upswing yesterday, gaining on each of the three major indexes. However, the gains were not enough to erase losses from Tuesday. The NASDAQ led the way with a 1.01 percent (22.46 points) climb, followed closely by both the S&P 500 (0.97 percent, 10.64 points), and the Dow Jones (0.89 percent, 91.75 points).
Unfortunately, a strong showing yesterday has been rendered meaningless by huge losses Thursday morning. Stocks plunged at the opening bell after overnight futures stalled and overseas markets posted overall losses.
According to CNNMoney.com, Fed chairman Bernanke’s words on Capitol Hill yesterday fell far short of providing relief. In the face of increasing Greek debt worries and another surprisingly bad jobless report in the U.S., investors are running scared.
The jobless front, in particular, has held sway over market momentum during the past several months.
According to BusinessWeek, initial jobless applications rose by 22,000 for the week ended February 20. The total of 496,000 applications pushed to its highest point in nearly three months. As more people join the registers of the unemployed, America’s already strained government is forced to pump out more money insurance benefits; At the same time, it loses productive workers who contribute to the tax base.
In other news, the Greek debt crisis, which seemed to be abating last week, may be accelerating once again.
According to Reuters, Moody’s Investors Service is considering lowering Athens’ BBB+ borrower rating if the nation doesn’t get its fiscal house in order. Moody’s has recently brought up the possibility of lowering the U.S. debt rating (AAA+) for the same reason. Doing so, in either the Greek or American case, would result in financial tumult beyond what has already been witnessed.