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This Week's Market Review

After a week of profit taking, the markets got back on a winning track as all three of the major market indices ended the week in positive territory. It was a week filled with positive news that started on Monday when Saint Louis Fed President Pool stated that the economy "is not really fragile, it's robust", reminding us that economic growth continues to be strong while inflation is kept in check. Later in the week the August retail sales were up 0.2% following a 1.4% jump in July. We also saw a pickup in consumer sentiment for September as the price of oil fell to $63 per barrel this week, down nearly $3 from the previous week. On the inflation front, the core CPI was up a very contained 0.2%, giving further evidence that the Fed may not raise interest rates when they meet this Wednesday. We saw positive corporate earnings this week from the likes of Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, and Best Buy. Going forward, although we are moving into earnings warning season, the underlying tone in the market remains moderately bullish, supported by positive fundamentals.

The DOW closed the week up, gaining 168.66 points to close at 11560.77 The S&P rose 1.6%, climbing 20.95 points, ending the week at 1319.87. The NASDAQ jumped 3.2%, adding 69.80 points, ending the week at 2235.59.