Wednesday, the US stock market closed lower with the broad based selling is seen across the commodities sectors on the back of Federal Reserve call against inflation. Further, there was report that Merrill Lynch is suing XL Capital Assurance over default protection on $3 billion of collateralized debt obligations also led the investors to take profit booking. However, on the positive side, Morgan Stanley reported better than expected earnings which tops earning estimates. Moreover, the Federal Housing Enterprise in order to foster increased liquidity in the U.S. mortgage market was relaxing its excess capital restrictions on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped by 293 points to close at 12,099.66. The S&P 500 (SPX) index decreased by 32.32 points to close at 1,298.42 and the NASDAQ Composite (RIXF) fell 58.30 points to close at 2,209.96.

Among the Dow''s 30 components, 29 components ended in red zone mainly led by the stocks like Chevron Corp and Exxon Mobil down by 4.9% and 4.6% respectively.

A total of more than 2.3bn shares were traded on the NASDAQ, with declining stocks outpaced the advancing stocks by 2 to 1. On NYSE around 5.3bn shares traded for the day, with declining stocks outpaced the advancing stocks by 2 to 1.

Crude oil futures for the month of April delivery closed lower by $4.94 at $104.48 per barrel on New York Mercantile Exchange. The crude prices fell as dollar strengthen its position as against its rival currencies. Further, the report from the Energy Department, which shows a sharp rise in the crude inventories, also led the prices to lose some grounds. EIA reported today that U.S. crude inventories rose less than expected, up 200,000 barrels to 311.8 million barrels in the week ending 14 March.

The gold prices for the month of April delivery dropped by $59 to settle at $945.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This sharp fall in the gold prices was the largest one-day decline in almost two years.

Tags: dow jones, nasdaq

Thursday, the US stock market closed higher on the back of the comments from Standard & Poor that the banks might be finished with the bulk of write-downs on subprime securities and the magnitude of some write-downs is greater than any reasonable estimate of losses. S&P said write-downs could reach $285 billion, from the current level of $150 billion. Standard & Poor's also said that the bank that have already announced their full year 2007 results may also face write down. The financial was mostly hitted on renewed credit concerns by due to reports that a Carlyle Group fund is close to collapse. Further the worst than expected retail sales figure for the month of February has led the market to trade cautiously. The retail sales fell 0.6%, which fell short of the expected 0.2% rise. However, on the positive side the unemployment claims remained unchanged at 53,000 for the week ended March 8.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) advanced by 35.50 points to close at 12,145.74. The S&P 500 (SPX) index increased by 6.71 points to close at 1,315.48 and the NASDAQ Composite (RIXF) grew 19.74 points to close at 2,263.61.

Among the Dow's 30 components, 14 components ended in red mainly led by the stocks like American Express, Citigroup and JP Morgan down by 2.7%, 0.7% and 1.3% respectively.

A total of 1.1bn shares were traded on the NASDAQ, with advancing stocks outpaced the declining stocks by 17 to 11.

Crude oil futures for the month of April delivery closed higher by $0.41 at $110.32 per barrel on New York Mercantile Exchange. The oil prices have touched a new record high during the intraday at $111 per barrel earlier in the session. The crude prices grew on the back of the weak economic data announced by the Commerce Department. The price rallied despite the Energy Department reported a surprise increase in weekly crude inventory.

The gold prices for the month of April delivery grew by $13.30 to settle at $993.80 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Tags: nasdaq, standard and poor, gold prices, dow jones