Market Watch 10/09/2009

Today is Friday!

Moderate gains on Friday led by health care and utility companies pushed stocks to a 4 percent gain for the week, their best performance since July. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 78 points, reaching its highest level in a year.

Moderate gains on Friday led by health care and utility companies pushed stocks to a 4 percent gain for the week, their best performance since July. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 78 points, reaching its highest level in a year.

The Dow rose 78.07, or 0.8 percent, to 9,864.94.

The S&P 500 index rose 6.01, or 0.6 percent, to 1,071.49, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 15.35, or 0.7 percent, to 2,139.28.

Despite the big gain in stocks this week, analysts warn that trading could be bumpy in the coming weeks as investors sift through companies' quarterly earnings reports. Major financial firms will report results next week, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. Better-than-expected earnings from banks this year have been a big force behind the market's rally.

Oil prices rose 8 cents to settle at $71.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices slipped after touching a fresh high of $1,062.70 on Thursday.