Market Recap: Investors Hope Desperation Will Lead to Debt Crisis Solution

Markets closed mixed on Wall Street today: 

• Dow +0.28 percent
• S&P+0.22 percent
• Nasdaq -0.47 percent
• Oil +1.62 percent
• Gold +0.31 percent

On the commodities front: 

• Oil (NYSE:USO) climbed to $99.80 a barrel
• Gold (NYSE:GLD) climbing to $1,719.80 an ounce
• Silver (NYSE:SLV) fell 0.86 percent to settle at $31.97

(Related: Former Treasury Secretary Paulson Warned Hedge Funds of Fannie and Freddie Takeover)

Today’s markets were mixed because:

1) Europe: U.S. stocks edged higher early in the day extending gains from yesterday’s rally as investors remained hopeful that euro-zone leaders are making progress in addressing the region’s debt crisis. 

Finance ministers from the euro zone’s 17 member nations have converged on the European Union headquarters in Brussels today in a desperate bid to save their currency and to protect the global economy from a debt-induced financial crisis. European leaders are working on a new plan to ensure fiscal discipline across the euro region while keeping down borrowing costs on sovereign debt.

2) AMR: American Airlines’ parent company AMR Corp. announced early this morning that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, causing the company’s stock to plunge more than 80 percent. The news gave rival airlines some traction, with Delta, United Continental, and US Airways among the day’s hottest stocks. JetBlue shares climbed more than 10 percent by closing bell.

3) Banks: Though the financial sector led Monday’s rally, they were among today’s biggest losers. Bank of America, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs all declined.

[Editor’s note: The above is a cross post that originally appeared on Wall St. Cheat Sheet.]