NDX: Nasdaq Ticks Higher as Optimism Prevails

Wall Street’s tech-heavy index powered through bank jitters to close out a winning week.

• The Nasdaq Composite finished the week in the green, helped by increased optimism that the banking-sector dumpster fire will be doused out by the government. While that scenario is not without some shade of doubt, the market was happily bidding up as banks were biting their nails
• In that context, the technology-focused index added 0.31% on Friday, notching a weekly gain of 1.7%. Its two peers were also winning – the Dow added 1.2% for the week, while the S&P 500 climbed 1.4% in the past five trading days, marked by heightened volatility.
• Shares of financial firms were mostly mixed with regional banks putting efforts into recovering from the sweeping selloff. In Europe, the situation was dire – major indexes finished Friday down about 1.5% to 2% on the day as skepticism spread across European bourses.