Market Wrap-Up

It was difficult to make sense of the last five trading sessions. One the one hand, investors were confronted with a series of weak corporate announcements as the third-quarter earnings season continued to wind its way toward a conclusion. But they also had to digest Tuesday's dramatic 889-point rally and sudden swings at the closing bells during the rest of the week that seem to have become the norm for every trading session. In many ways it felt as if the stock market was bumping along a bottom.

Contributing to the uncertainty was an array of spotty economic news. This week the Federal Reserve slashed key interest rates a half point. The Treasury announced it handed out $34 billion to at least 15 regional banks as its rescue plan got under way. The Commerce Department announced new-home sales rose 2.7% in September from the previous month, providing a short-lived bright spot for the housing market. But later in the week the Case-Shiller Home Price index posted a 16.6% decline in August compared with the same period a year ago. The index now sits at a level it hadn't seen since July 2004, according to Bank of America. Investors also got mixed news on personal spending, durable goods orders and crude and natural gas inventories. Oil closed the week at $68 per barrel.

As the weekend approached, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke went on television to explain the future of so-called government sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE). He said the marketplace for mortgage-backed products will need some sort of government oversight.

One of the most unpredictable attributes of the stock market this week was the last 90 minutes of trading. Each day stocks experienced wild late-day swings. Speculation centered on redemptions at hedge funds and mutual funds or short-sellers getting squeezed.

Given all that, it may come as a surprise that the broad market actually managed a healthy uptick this week, concluding with two straight up days (although the month overall was a poor one). Indeed, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 951 points this week to close at 9,326.

Winners

It was a good week for emerging markets. These developing nations have been selling off during recent weeks over concerns of a global economic slowdown. The Russian stock market had been particularly hard hit and the government there stepped in with a bailout plan. But opportunistic investors bet these markets had been oversold and pushed the Market Vectors Russia (RSX) 61.1% higher for the week.

Losers

Investors on the wrong side of the emerging markets trade were burned. The ProShares UltraShort MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEV) lost 53.9% this week. The ProShares UltraShort FTSE/Xinhua China 25 fund (FXP) dropped 47.1%.

This Week's Industry Headlines

Fees Fall
Invesco PowerShares announced it will lower next week the annual expense ratios on 11 domestic equity funds that are part of its FTSE RAFI lineup. The fees will drop from the usual 0.60% to 0.39%. Most of the changes involve sector funds.

Next Week's Notebook

Earnings & Conference Calls
Monday: American Tower, Anadarko, ADP, Belo, Comstock Resources, EOG Resources, Forest Oil, Genesee Wyoming, Goodyear, Herbalife, Leapfrog, Pepco, Pitney Bowes, Simon Property Group, Stifel Financial, Principal Financial, TreeHouse Foods

Tuesday: Archers Daniels Midland, Blue Nile, Boston Beer, Church & Dwight, Dean Foods, Emerson Electric, First Energy, Kenneth Cole, LoJack, Louisiana Pacific, Marvel Entertainment, Mueller Water Products, Nautilus, Nisource, Papa Johns, Vornado Realty Trust

Wednesday: Ambac, Apollo Investment Group, Aqua America, ArcelorMitall, CenterPoint Energy, CheckPoint Systems, Cisco, Conseco, El Paso, Fair Isaac, Healthsouth, IAC, March & McLennan, MBIA, McDermott International, Molson Coors, Polo Ralph Lauren, QuickSilver Resources, Revlon, Sara Lee, Speedway Motosports, Time Warner, Total, Transocean, Whole Foods, XTO Energy

Thursday: American States Water, Anheuser-Busch, Autonation, Avis Budget, Barr Pharmaceuticals, Bebe, Blockbuster, Boots & Coots, Cablevision, California Pizza Kitchen, CB Richard Ellis, Cedar Fair, Citadel Broadcasting, Constellation Energy, Dynegy, El Paso, Genworth, Hansen Natural, James River Coal, Pinnacle Entertainment, Playboy, Priceline.com, Primedia, Princeton Review, Spectra Energy, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Blackstone Group, The Knots, Tower Group, Tyco, UTStarcom, Vonage, Walt Disney, Wendy's

Friday: Calpine, Constellation Energy, Crosstex Energy, Edison International, Ford, Mirant, Reliant, Sprint Nextel, EW Scripps, Trump Entertainment Resorts, Westar Energy

Economic Data

Monday
10:00a.m. Sept. Construction Spending
10:00a.m. Oct. ISM Manufacturing Business Index

Tuesday
7:45a.m. ICSC Chain Store Sales
8:55a.m. Redbook Retail Sales Index
10:00a.m. Sept. Factory Orders

Wednesday
8:15a.m. Oct. ADP Employment Report
10:00a.m. Oct. ISM Non-Manufacturing Composite Index

Thursday
8:30a.m. 3Q Productivity & Labor Costs
8:30a.m. Initial Jobless Claims
10:00a.m. DJ-BTMU Business Barometer

Friday
8:30a.m. Oct. Nonfarm Payrolls
8:30a.m. Oct. Unemployment Rate
10:00a.m. Sept. Wholesale Trade
3:00p.m. Sept. Pending Home Sales
3:00p.m. Sept. Consumer Credit

Quick Take

A look at how the industry's most popular ETFs did on Friday.