US markets closed lower on last trading day of 2011

31 Dec 2011 Evaluate

The US markets declined on Friday the last trading day of 2011, with S&P 500 relinquishing its 2011 gain, as investors closed the books on a volatile year largely driven by Europe’s uncertain efforts to stem its debt crisis. However investors are expecting that US economic data and minutes from the December Federal Open Market Committee meeting are likely to move markets in the first week of 2012. The markets traded cautiously after Spain’s new government unveiled austerity measures and stated it expects a 2011 budget gap of nearly 8%. Investors drew limited cheer from reassurances made by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who ruled out a breakup of the euro region in an interview. Wolfgang Schaeuble stated that the euro-zone debt crisis can be brought under control in the next twelve months. Besides, France has planned to raise between €7 billion and €8 billion from its first long-term debt auction on January 5.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 69.48 points, or 0.57 percent, to 12,217.60. The Standard and Poor’s 500 closed lower by 5.42 points, or 0.43 percent, to 1,257.60, while the Nasdaq composite lost 8.59 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,605.15.

The Indian ADRs made a mixed closing on Friday, HDFC Bank was up 0.42%, ICICI Bank was up by 0.17% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.17%. On the flip side, Tata Communications was down 0.08% and MTNL was down by 0.01%.

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×