Market Summary 8/20/2010

Stock Market Closing Prices – 8/20/10

Dow ( DJIA ) Close - 10213.62 -57.59
Nasdaq Close - 2179.76 +0.81
S&P 500 Close – 1071.69 -3.94

Commodities Closing Prices – 8/20/10

Gold Close - 1227.20
Oil Close – 73.46
Natural Gas – 4.12

The Dow lost 58 points to 10213, as investors continued to react to the week's downbeat economic reports that have raised concern about a double-dip recession.

Oil futures for September delivery settled down 97 cents to $73.46 a barrel. Gold for December delivery slipped $6.60 to settle at $1,228.80.

Looking forward next week,

The economic news will continue to challenge. It's a relatively light week for economic reports, but it will be hard to get a lot of cheer from them.

Here's what to look for:

Tuesday: Existing-home sales for July.
Wednesday: Durable-goods orders for July. New-home sales for July.
Thursday: Initial jobless claims.
Friday: Gross-domestic-product growth for the second quarter.
Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for July.

Other reports due next Week include:

Monday: Sanderson Farms (SAFM) and Tuesday Morning (TUES).

Tuesday: Barnes & Noble,Big Lots (BIG)Burger King(BKC) and Medtronic (MDT).

Wednesday: American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), BHP Billiton (BHP), brewer Heineken (HINKY).

Thursday: Bebe Stores (BEBE), Credit Agricole (CRARY) and Bank of China (BACHY).

Friday: National Bank of Greece (NBG) and Tiffany.