After two days of sharp decline, on Wall Street on Friday, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices slightly rose, but trading was uncertain as investors fear the consequences of changes in the Fed’s cheap money policy.
The Dow Jones strengthened by 44 points, or 0.30 percent, to 14,802 points, while the S&P 500 index rose by 0.28 percent, to 1,592 points. The Nasdaq index, on the other hand, weakened by 0.22 percent, to 3,357 points.
Uncertainty still prevails in the market, a consequence of the announcement by the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, on Wednesday that the Fed could begin to reduce its stimulative monetary programs by the end of the year, and completely eliminate them by mid-next year if the economy is strong enough.
However, the prices of most stocks slightly rose yesterday, after a sharp decline in the previous two days.
“Many investors believe that the sales in recent days were excessive, but fears still persist in the market that have driven prices down. No one is sure what will happen when the Fed changes its policy. It is too early to conclude that the market has hit bottom,” says Nicholas Colas, a strategist at ConvergEx Group.
