New York, NY (BBN)– The Dow Jones industrial average broke the 11,000 mark for the first time in five months on Friday as a surprisingly weak U.S. jobs report strengthened the case for more stimulus from the Federal Reserve.
U. S. stocks passed a good week on hopes of further quantitative easing from the Fed. Market operators said.
Stocks further gained during the latter part of the week as stronger-than-expected earnings and lingering USD weakness increased demand for equities, according to reports.
Over the week, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 128.43 points or 1.17 percent. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 60.57 points or 2.54 percent over the same period.
Japan’s Nikkei average started the week falling 1 percent on Friday, hurt by the JPY trading near a 15-year peak against the dollar and by profit-taking after the Bank of Japan’s policy easing this week had driven stocks higher.
Nikkei further fell 0.9 percent on Tuesday, dragged lower by a climb in the Yen to fresh 15-year highs against the dollar and a surprisingly weak profit forecast from popular stock Fast Retailing.
To close the week, Japan’s Nikkei average rose 1.9 percent on Thursday, its best daily performance in a month, buoyed by a jump in resource stocks as USD weakness fuelled a climb in commodity prices. The Nikkei 225 index ended the week at 9,583.51, shedding 101.30 points or 1.05 percent over the previous week.
BBN/SSR/AD-17Oct10-1:50 om (BST)
