The unrelenting images of the massive disaster in Japan overwhelmed world
markets and gave investors pause to contemplate and process what the
ramifications might be for the marketplace. Oil refineries shut down, companies
such as Sony close factories and Japanese stocks hurled lower as a result of the
8.9 magnitude quake. Both Asian and European stocks ended their respective
sessions lower. Major stock index composites in the United States however, ended
the trading session in the green. Sectors that helped push positive trending
yesterday were energy and building materials. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
moved in positive territory most of the session and ended higher by .5 percent
at 12044.4. The Nasdaq ended the session in positive territory as well. It moved
ahead by .54 percent and closed the session of the week at 2715.61. The S&P 500
ended the session in the green by moving higher .71 percent and finishing at
1304.28. Home based economic reports stemming from Friday were relatively
positive. It was reported that retail sales figures rose 1 percent in February
which was slightly better than what many economists had been anticipating. The
indices ended on a positive note but were lower overall for the week. As a side
notation, as bad as news out of Japan was, there are many that imply the global
market growth will now benefit from the amount of money that will need to be
spent on rebuilding the devastated areas of Japan. For the week though, the Dow
Jones Industrial Average fell 1 percent. Author: Frank Matto
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