iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Small gains and losses, a calm end for Wall Street after five wild days of trading.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 11.76 to finish the session at 16643.01.
The Nasdaq gained 15.62, ending at 4828.32, while the S&P 500 was up 1.21 to finish the week at 1988.87.
When will the Federal Reserve raise interest rates? That’s been the big question these past few weeks, but now many are wondering “if” the Fed will raise interest rates. Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Stanley Fischer said it was now too early to decide to raise rates, especially after the crazy week for the markets and China’s devaluation of its currency.
According to the University of Michigan, consumer confidence has fallen slightly from 93.1 in July to 91.2 in August. However, the change is still nearly 11.5 percent higher than a year ago. University of Michigan Survey of Consumers Chief Economist Richard Curtin says, “The data suggest that real personal consumption expenditures will expand by a still healthy 2.9 percent in 2015, with the pace of growth rising to 3.0 percent in 2016. Needless to say, consumer sentiment must be carefully monitored in the months ahead.”
World markets had their own issues this week with volatility and sell-offs, but Asia’s markets ended mostly higher with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 2.9 percent and the Shanghai composite index up 4.8 percent. Europe’s were mixed with London’s FTSE 100 up 0.9 percent and Germany’s DAX down 0.2 percent.
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