Video: Reuters Business Recap for the Week of October 29, 2007

It wasn’t a pretty start of a new month for the stock markets. One day after getting a boost from the Federal Reserve’s a quarter-point rate cut, stocks took a nose dive on Thursday after Exxon Mobile reported a loss in quarterly profit and CIBC issued warnings that Citigroup may cut its dividend. Though the economy is still robust (third quarter’s GDP growth rate is 3.9%) and the job market remains strong (166,000 new jobs added in October), renewed concerns of the effect of the mortgage crisis on the financial sector pressured stocks.

Major indices closed the week mixed. For the week, the S&P dropped 1.7% to 1,509.65, the Dow lost 1.5% to 13,595.10 and the NASDAQ gained 0.2% to 2,810.38. As equity markets declined and the US dollar reached record low against the Euro, commodities rallied. Spot gold closed above $800 an ounce for the first time since 1980. For the week, gold gained $22.50 to $806.00/ounce on Friday, while crude oil rose $4.06 to $95.93 a barrel on the NYMEX.

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