By Anora Mahmudova, Carla Mozee and Victor Reklaitis,
MarketWatch
S&P 500, Dow gain over the week
S&P 500, Dow gain over the week
NEW YORK (MarketWatch)--Wall Street closed sharply higher Friday
and posted modest gains for the week as risk appetite returned
after news reports that Russia ended military exercises on the
Ukrainian border.
War Central: Live updates on Iraq, Ukraine and Gaza
The S&P 500 (SPX) closed 22.02 points, or 1.2%, to 1,931.59
and finished the week 0.3% higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJI) jumped 185.66 points, or 1.1%, to 16,553.93, its biggest
one-day percentage gain in more than 4 months. The blue-chip index
gained 0.3% over the week.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) gained 36.08 points, or 0.8%, to
4,371.07 and recorded a 0.4% weekly gain.
The Russell 2000 (RUT) rose 11.8 points, or 1% to the
preliminary 1,131.55 and gained 1.5% over the past five days,
outperforming large-cap stocks.
Follow MarketWatch's live blog of today's stock-market
action.
Headlines from Russia and the Middle East dominated news on
Friday. Russian news agency RIA quoted a senior official saying
Russia is seeking to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine, followed by
another report that it ended military exercises near the border
with Ukraine. Read also: Ukraine trumps Iraq: Investors' 3 biggest
worries
Meanwhile, the U.S. military has struck ISIL artillery that had
been used against Kurdish forces defending Erbil, the Pentagon said
Friday.
"Equities are likely to trade sideways throughout August and be
driven by geopolitical headline news," said Terry Sandven, chief
equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "From a technical
standpoint, it is a good time to add to positions as we do not
expect a 10% correction at this point."
In the Middle East, Israel said Hamas had violated a 72-hour
cease-fire and ordered the military to resume fire in the Gaza
Strip.
Individuals stock moves
On the data front, a report on U.S. labor productivity in the
second quarter showed a 2.5% rise, beating the 1.7% gain expected
by economists polled by MarketWatch.
Among individual stocks, Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. (TKMR)
surged 45% after the Canadian drug maker said Thursday U.S.
regulators are moving closer to approving its anti-Ebola drug for
use on those infected with the deadly disease.
Gap (GPS)climbed 5.9% after the apparel retailer's same-store
sales increased 2% in July, topping analysts' expectations.'
Sotheby's (BID) dropped 7.9% after the auction-house's
second-quarter profit dropped 15%, missing Wall Street's
expectations. (Read more about notable stock moves here:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/zynga-plummets-tesla-falls-short-of-record-2014-08-07.)
In other markets, oil futures (CLU4) ticked up, and gold futures
(GCZ4) firmed. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note's yield recovered to
2.42% after Russia news. European stocks closed lower.
Investors had sought safety in the Japanese yen (USDJPY), and
that push higher for the currency led to a 3% dive in Japanese
stocks.
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