CLOSING MARKET REPORT
Oil's plunge powers rally on Wall Street

* Oil slides more than US$5, falls below US$115/barrel
* Three major US indexes up more than 2%
* For the week, Dow up 3.6%, S&P 500 up 2.9%, Nasdaq up 4.5%
* Fannie Mae posts 4th straight quarterly loss

NEW YORK - US stocks soared on Friday rounding out their best week in more than three months, as oil plunged below US$115 a barrel, easing inflation concerns and improving prospects for business and consumer spending.

The slide in oil prices to their lowest level in three months powered the biggest rally in retailing shares in six years, with Home Depot gaining 7.7 per cent.

That eclipsed a steeper-than-expected quarterly loss from mortgage finance company Fannie Mae.

In fact, financials rallied, helped by the view that lower inflation will make it easier for the Federal Reserve to put off interest-rate increases, at a time when the financial sector is still struggling with tighter credit conditions.

'We're at the lowest level in oil prices in months and there is a real feeling that the trend has turned,' said Al Kugel, chief investment strategist at Atlantic Trust.

'Lower oil prices are good for businesses and good for consumers, for the inflation picture, and they will improve growth somewhere down the line. So it's 'win win.'

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 302.89 points, or 2.65 per cent, to 11,734.32, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index jumped 30.25 points, or 2.39 per cent, to 1,296.31. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 58.37 points, or 2.48 per cent, to 2,414.10.

For the week, the Dow gained 3.6 per cent, the S&P 500 advanced 2.9 per cent and the Nasdaq shot up 4.5 per cent. It was the best week for all three indexes since April 20.

Source: Singapore Business Times - 09 Aug 2008