Stocks rose today in a day of light trading, let by Microsoft's meteoric gain. A day after a technical error brought the New York Stock Exchange to a standstill for three hours, all glitches were resolved and the markets operated as normal. Investors were cautious today, leading to a daily volume far below the average. Only 4.9 billion shares were traded, versus a 2013 daily average of 6.3 billion. Today's volume was only slightly higher then yesterday, when there were 4.4 billion traded shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) closed at 15,010.51 (+46.77/0.31%), the S&P 500 closed at 1,663.5 (+6.54/0.39%), and the NASDAQ Composite closed at 3,657.92 (+19.085/0.52%). The Dow Jones is starting to show signs of a recovery after a slump from 15,600 points led by Fed anxiety.
CEO of Microsoft Steve Ballmer's resignation was the highlight of the financial world today. Microsoft (MSFT) shares surged by $2.36/7.29% to close at $34.75. Ballmer's style of management attracted criticism, and is blamed for the company's slip from the dominating giant it once was. During his tenure at Microsoft, competing tech firms overtook his company in fields such as smartphones and tablets. Microsoft's failure to capture a significant share of the mobile market led to massive criticism towards Steve Ballmer, and problems for the company itself. As Ballmer steps down from his position and leaves the company he helped shape over three decades, Microsoft will hopefully be able to capture a portion of the mobile market and become a key player in the tech world once again.
Sources
Yahoo Finance
Reuters
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