A man checks the stock prices on an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Aug. Temperamental, flighty, prone to violent mood swings, the market took investors on a wild ride this week. From one day to the next, even within a few hours, stocks swung from despair to optimism, deep losses to big gains. The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted points at one point Wednesday, but pared most of those losses by the end of the trading day.

On Friday, it surged points. The difference between the Dow's high and the low for the week was the largest in nearly three years. Investors seemed buffeted from every corner: Plunging oil prices, signs of a slowdown in Europe and fear of Ebola on the downside; strong corporate earnings and reassuring jobs market figures on the upside. Investors are afraid that Europe could slip into another recession, perhaps deeper than the one it emerged from just a year ago, and the slowdown could cut into U.

The bad news from Europe started piling up earlier this month. Germany, the region's biggest economy, said that manufacturing output fell. The International Monetary Fund cut its estimate of growth in the eurozone to an anemic 0. Then came news on Tuesday that industrial production for the country region plunged in August, and people really got spooked. I don't think so," said Bell Curve's Strazzullo. Still, Vitner added, the danger to the U. He noted that the U. Only 14 per cent of U.

One measure of trouble in the eurozone to watch is its purchasing managers' index, a broad gauge of business activity.

The next reading comes out Thursday. The drop has hammered energy companies this month. Two Dow members, Chevron and Exxon Mobil, have fallen 6 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively. Ultimately, the drop in oil could be good for stocks, though. That's because a fall in prices means drivers will end up paying much less to fill up their tanks, leaving them more money to spend on other things, like travel and clothes and dinners out.

He wrote that the drop in gas could prove a "boon to retailers" in the holiday shopping season, and cited it as one reason USAA mutual funds were buying stocks this week. One of the triggers for the sickening point drop in the Dow on Wednesday was a report showing retail sales declined 0.

Purchases of autos, gasoline, furniture and clothing all slowed. Still, it's important to put the bad news in context.

Employers are hiring at the strongest pace in 15 years and most economists expect the U. Investors will get more tea leaves to read on U.

In the end, you can talk your head off about the state of the global economy and the U. But the biggest driver of stocks is earnings. The blowout profits reported by General Electric and Textron on Friday, which helped propel the Standard and Poor's index up 1. The index is trading at That is slightly lower -- meaning cheaper -- than the average of But financial analysts are a notoriously over-optimistic bunch.

For all of next year, they expect earnings to rise Randall Warren, chief investment officer of Warren Financial Service in Exton, Pennsylvania, is optimistic. Skip to Main Content Skip to Section Links. CTV News Mobile CTV.

What Causes Swings in the Stock Market? | Finance - Zacks

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What caused the wild stock market swings, and what's next? Bernard Condon, The Associated Press Published Saturday, October 18, NEW YORK -- The stock market needs to see a therapist. Here's a look at the factors driving the manic trading, and the outlook for next week: The Chinese economy, the world's second largest, is slowing, too.

OIL PRICE PLUNGE Benchmark U. ECONOMY A pickup in spending would sure help calm investor nerves. THE PROFIT PICTURE In the end, you can talk your head off about the state of the global economy and the U.

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