Suntech’s Bankruptcy, Oracle’s Earnings, and Facebook’s Desperation: Market Recap

The markets closed up today on Wall Street. Concerns over the economic stability of the euro currency bloc were — at least temporarily — overshadowed by an announcement following the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.

At the close: DJIA: +0.39%, S&P 500: +0.67%, NASDAQ: +0.78%.

On the commodities front, WTI crude oil (NYSEARCA:USO) followed the markets and increased 1.02 percent to $93.46 per barrel. The yield of on the 10-year T-note climbed 0.55 points to 1.957 percent. Gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for April delivery, the most active contract, decreased $3.80 to close at $1,607.50 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures for May edged 3 cents lower to finish at $28.82. Both precious metals held steady as the Federal Open Market Committee decided to keep its current quantitative easing programs in place.

The central bank will continue to purchase $40 billion in agency mortgage-backed securities and $45 billion in longer-term Treasury securities each month. With high unemployment levels, and low inflation according to the Federal Reserve, the central bank believes the benefits of QE still outweigh the risks.