The indices closed mixed on Monday with late day trading leading the Dow and S&P 500 into the green zone. The NASDAQ shed some points, and Small-Cap stocks briefly fell into a bear market. On Tuesday, a late afternoon rally left indices positive for the day, with NASDAQ trading leading the advance. Crude oil briefly fell below $30 a barrel; however, West Texas Intermediate crude managed to settle at $30.79 a barrel. U.S. stocks tumbled on Wednesday to their lowest close since September, and oil prices gave up an early rally on mounting worries about the global economy. In economic reports, the Fed’s Beige Book reported growth in consumer and housing sectors. Expansion in manufacturing, agriculture and energy sectors continued to lag in recent months. Trading closed in green territory on Thursday as Labor Department data showed initial jobless claims increased to 284,000 last week. Unfortunately, indices closed the session well into the red zone on Friday with stocks trading into territory not seen since August. West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 5.7% to settle at $29.14 a barrel.
