Market Wrap for Friday, March 22: Stocks Rise on Hopes of Bailout Deal for Cyprus

The U.S. stock market closed out a choppy week with a gain as policymakers in Cyprus were in talks with EU officials to secure a bailout for the Mediterranean island which is facing a banking crisis.

Banks have been closed since March 16 in the country as Cypriot leaders have been haggling with creditors about the terms of a bailout. The euro rose on the expectation that some resolution would be reached, and investors moved money into stocks.

On the week, the S&P 500 fell 0.24 percent.

Major Averages

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed almost 91 points, or 0.63 percent, to 14,512.

The S&P 500 added around 11 points, or 0.72 percent, to close at 1,557.

The Nasdaq rose 22 points, or 0.70 percent, to 3,245.

Commodities

Crude oil rose along with the stock market to end the week. Near the close of equities, NYMEX crude futures were up by 1.31 percent to $93.65. Brent crude futures had lost 0.07 percent to $107.54. At last check, natural gas futures were up around 0.20 percent to $3.94.

Precious metals fell on the day on expectations of a Cyprus deal. COMEX gold futures had lost 0.44 percent to $1,606.50 near the end of the day while silver was down 1.79 percent to $28.69.

In the agricultural complex, corn futures shed around 1 percent on the session while wheat futures were marginally higher. In soft commodities, coffee climbed 1 percent while cotton futures lost 1 percent.

Bonds

Near the close of equities, the iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE:TLT) was up 0.15 percent to $117.42. Treasury yields were unchanged across the board on Friday.

Currencies

Investors reacted to a strong move higher in the euro on Friday. Overall, the U.S. dollar fell on the session. The PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (NYSE:UUP), which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies, was down 0.55 percent to $22.43.

The closely watched EUR/USD pair was last trading up 0.70 percent to $1.2983. Other significant movers included the USD/JPY, which fell 0.71 percent on the session.

Volatility and Volume

The VIX fell slightly on the day as stocks recorded healthy gains. The widely watched measure of market fear lost 1.36 percent to 13.80.

Volume was noticeably light on the session. Only around 85 million SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:SPY) shares traded hands on the day compared to a 3-month daily average of 130 million.

Stock Movers

Tibco Software (NASDAQ:TIBX) lost more than 9 percent on Friday after the company reported disappointing first-quarter earnings results on "execution-related" problems, according to the CEO.

Nike (NYSE:NKE) surged after its fiscal third-quarter earnings came in above Wall Street estimates. Late in the day, the stock had risen almost 11 percent to $59.45.

Heading into the closing bell, Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) was up almost 31 percent after the company, along with Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) announced that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has granted a Positive Opinion to Baxter for the use of HyQvia as replacement therapy for adult patients with primary and secondary immunodeficiencies.

Anacor Pharmacetuicals (NASDAQ:ANAC) jumped almost 26 percent after the company reported positive results from a Phase 2 dose-ranging trial of its topical boron-based phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor, AN2728 on Thursday.

Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE:ABR) fell more than 7 percent on the day after the firm announced a secondary share offering.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) soared on the day despite reporting a wider fiscal second-quarter loss.

Retailer rue21 (NASDAQ:RUE) fell around 3 percent after the company's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings results.

Global luxury jeweler Tiffany (NYSE:TIF) were trading around 2 percent higher heading into the close after the company's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings topped estimates.