Stock Market Closing Prices – 2/05/10

Dow Jones Industrial Average ( DJIA ) Close – 10012.23 +10.05
Nasdaq Stock Market Close – 2141.12 +15.69
S&P 500 Close – 1066.19 +3.08

Commodities Closing Prices – 2/05/10

Gold Close – 1052.20 +3.50
Oil Close – 71.19 -1.25
Natural Gas – 5.54

Investors are concerned that European governments will have trouble getting their massive deficits under control. The Labor Department, meanwhile, offered only modest hope of improvement in the jobs market in its closely watched monthly report.

The market expert said the late-day turnaround may have been the result of a defensive move by short sellers, or investors who bet that a stock will fall in value.

When stocks turn higher, short sellers can be pressured to quickly unwind their positions to limit future losses. To do that, they have to buy shares, which can push the stock price up even more in what's known as a "short squeeze."