S&P 500, Dow Erase Early-Year Losses
U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 index turning positive for 2016 in the wake of a dovish Federal Reserve that helped the gauge post its longest weekly winning streak since November. The equity benchmark joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average to advance for the year, staging one of the biggest turnarounds in history. The Dow surged 12 percent in 24 days through Thursday, boosted by seven separate daily advances...
Some Funds Offer Stability, But at a Price
New York — Freaked out by the stock market’s big swings? Then the investment industry has something it built just for you: funds that hope to offer a steadier ride. That sounds especially comforting after this year’s jarring start for markets, in which drops of more than 1 percent have become typical. But be careful, the funds carry their own risks. These mutual funds and exchange-traded funds own stocks that could charitably be...
Stock Market Slides Again for Its Worst Two-Week Start Ever
Never before has Wall Street gotten off to a worse start to a year. The stock market capped the first two weeks of 2016 with a steep slide Friday that sent the Dow Jones industrial average down nearly 400 points. All three major stock indexes — the Dow, the Nasdaq composite and the Standard & Poor’s 500 — are now in what’s known as a correction, or a drop of 10 percent or more from their recent peaks. The market has been on a...
Stocks Finish Worst Year Since Recession
U.S. stock markets had their worst year since 2008. Equities finished the volatile year slightly lower than where they started, reducing expectations for 2016. The Dow Jones industrial average ended the year down 2.2 percent and the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 0.7 percent. It marked the first year of losses for the Dow since 2008. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was the only major U.S. index to rise, gaining 5.7 percent. But...
Technology Boards Still Lack Women
The boards of tech companies have been trying to shed their image as nearly all-white, all-male clubs. Last month, Microsoft added two female directors. Twitter is expected to revamp its board to include more women and minorities after it finally added its first female director in late 2013. And as Hewlett-Packard was splitting into two companies recently, the Rev. Jesse Jackson praised the two new companies’ boards — each of which...
