Stocks Ended Sharply Higher, Saw Large Monthly Losses

U.S. stocks closed sharply higher on Friday, but the main indexes ended January with steep monthly losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 396.66 points, or 2.47%, to 16,466.30 and booked a 2.3% weekly gain. The S&P 500 gained 46.88 points, or 2.48%, to 1,940.24 and gained 1.7% over the week . The Nasdaq Composite was up 107.28 points, or 2.38%, to 4,613.95 and finished the week roughly where it started it. For the month, the Dow industrials lost 5.5%, the S&P 500 shed 5.1% and the Nasdaq plunged 7.9%.

The Bank of Japan’s unexpected shift to negative interest rates sparked a 2.4% surge in the dollar against the yen, a gain that if extended in coming weeks could pave the way for further market unrest.

Caterpillar says it plans to close five plants and trim about 670 jobs in Illinois and several other states. The mining and construction equipment company will cut about 230 jobs for office and production workers at a major manufacturing campus in East Peoria, Illinois, where Caterpillar says it’s consolidating some manufacturing and transferring some work to outside contractors.

Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is suspending production at its main gearbox plant as the carmaker grapples with reduced demand and the effects of technical problems at another German site.