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This Week's Market Review

Although it was a slow newsweek, the DOW pushed to record highs as the blue chips rallied on Fed Chairman Bernanke's positive comments on Wednesday that gave the market the extra push it needed. He was upbeat about the economic outlook going forward as we move into earnings season. Economic news this past week was mixed. September retail sales were strong as the decline in gas prices may have given the consumer an extra boost, however, the September ISM manufacturing and services surveys were both weaker than expected. The big news for the week was the September employment data released on Friday which showed only a 51,000 increase in payrolls, although the drop was not of much concern as the average for the past couple of months is still in line with the trend. Going forward, the market tone remains upbeat going into earnings season as expectations are for the S&P 500 to post a gain in operating earnings of 14%.

The DOW closed the week up, climbing 171.14 points to close at 11850.21. The S&P rose 1.0%, adding 13.73 points, ending the week at 1349.58. The NASDAQ jumped 1.8%, rising 41.56 points, ending the week at 2299.99.