stock markets

Investors bought up utility stocks Friday after the government reported that U.S. employers added fewer jobs than forecast for August. That boosted demand for bonds and pushed down their yields. In turn, stocks with big dividends became more attractive to investors seeking income-paying securities. The stock market also got a lift from a cease-fire agreement between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists, aimed at bringing an end to nearly five months of fighting.

Stocks had started the day higher after the European Central Bank surprised investors by announcing that it had cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low and planned to purchase asset-backed securities in an effort to stimulate the region’s ailing economy. Investors were also cheered by some encouraging reports on the U.S. economy. The gains didn’t hold though and the market fell back during afternoon trading, as the falling price of oil pushed energy stocks lower.

News that that Russia and Ukraine were close to reaching a cease-fire agreement rippled through markets early, lifting stocks in Europe and pushing up oil prices. In the U.S., the stock market headed higher at the start of trading then sagged in the afternoon.

The escalating conflict in Ukraine, disappointing retail earnings and profit outlooks combined to weigh down the market Thursday, eclipsing some good news on the U.S. economy and labor market. “The key driver was largely the Ukraine news and the uncertainty of what that means,” said Erik Davidson, deputy chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank.

U.S. stocks ended essentially flat on Wednesday after spending much of the day wavering between tiny gains and losses. The S&P 500 notched a gain of one-tenth of a point over the day before, extending its rise for the week. Overall trading volume was about one-third below the recent average, reflecting an absence of major market-moving news and the approaching Labor Day holiday weekend.

Stocks opened slightly higher Tuesday and remained in the green the rest of the day. The S&P crossed above 2,000 points early on, and hovered at or above the mark as it approached the close of regular trading.

Shortly after the market opened, the Commerce Department reported that sales of new homes slid 2.4% last month. Homebuilder stocks declined, but the losses didn’t spread to the broader market. In fact, stocks did the opposite. The S&P 500, a widely followed barometer of the stock market, crossed above 2,000 in the first hour of trading.

Friday was a quiet day overall for the markets. Stocks moved between small gains and losses, then settled modestly lower in the last couple of hours. Trading was slow, as it has been all week, as the summer winds down and with many investors on vacation. It was the second-quietest day of the year for trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Stocks rose Thursday after investors were encouraged by news that the number of people seeking unemployment benefits remains at a multi-year low.

Stocks advanced for the third consecutive day Wednesday. In the bond market, prices fell and yields rose as investors prepared themselves for higher interest rates.

Investors were encouraged by economic reports Tuesday that suggested growth may be poised to pick up, while inflation remains subdued. A pair of company earnings reports also hinted that consumers may be getting more confident and spending more.

The stock market is bouncing back after a bout of summer volatility pushed the Standard & Poor’s 500 down earlier this month to its lowest level since May. The index is now less than 1 percent below its record close of 1,987 reached on July 24. Investors had become skittish on concerns that the tensions between Russia and Ukraine were escalating.

Stocks moved lower Friday following news of renewed fighting in Ukraine. Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott, said that one reason world events seem to be driving trading recently is that there’s a lack of anything else for traders to focus on. All but a handful of big companies have turned in second-quarter results already, and no major economic reports came out this week.

With many who work in the markets on vacation, trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange thinned out: just 2.6 billion shares on Thursday. An average day this year is nearly 1 billion higher.

Stocks moved higher on Wednesday. Amazon led the gains in light trading, despite a mixed batch of economic and corporate news. The gains were broad but thin. Three companies rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, and all 10 sectors in the S&P 500 ended higher.

U.S. stock indexes opened modestly higher Tuewday but turned lower at mid-morning and stayed there for the rest of the day. Investors took a cue from Europe, where Germany’s benchmark index fell more than 1 percent and France’s CAC 40 fell nearly 1 percent.

Monday saw stocks edge higher on corporate earnings news. The stock market was extending a rebound from Friday when it logged its biggest one-day gain in five months following signs that tensions in Ukraine might be easing.

A rally Friday on Wall Street contrasted with price declines in European and Asian stock markets. Fear has been creeping into stock and bond markets around the world in recent weeks against a backdrop of escalating global conflicts.

The stock market started Thursday higher as investors mulled the latest earnings reports and an encouraging report on jobs. By mid-morning, though, the market had given up its gains. While stocks slumped, government bond prices rose, pushing the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to its lowest level this year.

The market was moderately lower all day Tuesday, weighed down by a disappointing earnings forecast from retail giant Target and a report on China that showed the world’s second-largest economy was slowing down. The selling accelerated in afternoon trading.

Stocks rose Monday as investors had a couple pieces of positive news to get behind: a decent earnings report from Berkshire Hathaway and the announcement of a rescue package for a struggling Portuguese bank. However, investors remain cautious after last week’s sell-off, which gave the Standard & Poor’s 500 index its worst five-day period in more than two years.

Stocks fell again Friday after investors found little reason to move money into stocks, faced with the growing geopolitical concerns in Israel and Ukraine, as well as banking problems in Europe.

Stocks started the day lower after a dose of bad earnings news, and the losses accelerated throughout the day. The stock market has been on a bull run for more than five years, with the most recent leg of that surge pushing the Standard & Poor’s 500 index to an all-time high a week ago. Investors are now getting concerned that stocks may have climbed too far and reflect too much optimism on the outlook for growth.

A positive report from the Federal Reserve Wednesday left stocks trading mostly flat. Investors were also following the parade of big companies turning in their second-quarter results. The reports out Wednesday presented a mixed picture.

Stocks spent most of Tuesday wandering around the start line. Major indexes crept higher in the morning, following news that a gauge of consumer confidence hit its highest level in nearly seven years. Major indexes turned flat by midday then slid to a loss in the last hours of trading.

A scattering of merger announcements drove some trading on Monday. Family Dollar rose the most in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index — with a 25% gain — after Dollar Tree announced plans to buy the rival discount store for roughly $8.5 billion. Family Dollar’s stock surged $15.08 to $75.74.

Stocks closed lower Thursday following news of weaker earnings and the downing of a passenger plane flying over Ukraine. All three major stock indexes ended lower for the first time in a week, but remained near record highs and positive for the year.

Momentum from Intel’s strong second-quarter earnings late Tuesday and news that Apple and IBM are teaming up to sell more iPhones and iPads to corporate customers helped lift major stock indexes in premarket trading Wednesday. Investors had lots of market-moving news to consider, including encouraging corporate earnings from Intel, a higher profit forecast from hospital operator HCA Holdings and a pickup in U.S. homebuilders’ confidence.

The major U.S. financial market indexes were up slightly in premarket trading as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Johnson & Johnson released quarterly results that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. Separate reports on U.S. retail sales and manufacturing growth also gave the market an early lift. But stock indexes diverged shortly after the market opened and then fully veered into the red about an hour into regular trading as investors began to tune into Fed Chair Janet Yellen delivering the central bank’s semi-annual economic report to Congress.

The major indexes rose in premarket trading Monday as investors digested Citigroup’s earnings. They opened in the green and held steady through the entire session.

Investors became more cautious this week as corporate earnings for the April-June period began trickling in. Worrisome news about a Portuguese bank also revived fears about the European debt crisis. That weighed on stocks, which had closed out the previous week at record highs.

Thursday’s stock sell-off started in Europe, and spread to the U.S, where the Dow Jones industrial average plunged as much as 180 points in the first half hour of trading. But anxiety in the U.S. quickly subsided and the market steadily clawed back for the rest of the day. While stocks never fully bounced back, the decline in the Dow was roughly half of what it was at the beginning of Thursday’s session.

The market opened higher Wednesday and remained modestly higher throughout the day. Stocks climbed further after the Federal Reserve released minutes from its latest policy meeting in June.

Tuesday was the second day of broad declines following record closes for major U.S. indexes last week. The Dow Jones industrial average fell below 17,000, a level it topped Thursday for the first time in its 118-year history. The technology-weighted Nasdaq composite fell 1.4%, its biggest drop in two months. Among the biggest losers were Twitter and Pandora Media, a music streaming service, down 7% each. Facebook and Netflix each dropped more than 3%.

Stocks slipped Monday when investors moved money into stocks traditionally thought of as safer than the broader market: utilities, telecommunication companies and consumer staples such as soft drinks and detergent.

Stocks climbed from the open Tuesday after HSBC said its Chinese purchasing managers index rose to 50.7 in June from 49.4 a month earlier. Numbers above 50 signal growth. The market added to its gains after another survey showed that U.S. manufacturing kept growing. The gains were broad. Nine of the 10 industry sectors that make up the S&P 500 rose. Utilities were the only sector to fall.

Stocks have resumed their upward trajectory after getting off to their worst start in five years in the first quarter.

A handful of corporate results drove trading in some big names Friday. Warnings of weaker earnings pushed DuPont down, while stronger results pushed Nike up. But the overall market was essentially flat.

Consumer discretionary stocks were among the biggest advancers Wednesday, a sector that includes broadcasters and other media companies. CBS and other broadcasters rose after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of them over a startup Internet company in a closely watched copyright case.

Stocks closed lower Tuesday. Traders said the selling might be tied to large mutual funds having to rebalance their portfolios ahead of the end of the quarter next week. Other traders pointed to the ongoing violence in Iraq as a reason to pull out of the market ahead of the end of the quarter.