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Stocks Rally To Close Out Roller Coaster Week On Wall Street

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Stocks rallied Friday, ending a roller coaster week on Wall Street.

On Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down. But after a rough start Friday, a late-afternoon rally sent it up 330 points.

As CBS2's Dick Brennan reported, it was another yo-yo day with stocks going through wild gyrations. Then, a surge in the last few minutes had the Dow finishing a brutal few days with a positive push.

"After an absolutely rip-roaring week to the downside, very few traders want to be left holding the bag going into the weekend. You want to be able to sleep and be comfortable," MarketWatch Editor Mark DeCambre said.

So the Dow did bounce back a bit at the week's close. But the question continues to be: What is going on, and where will the bottom be, especially since so many economic indicators have been positive?

"It's gone up really fast, like gangbusters for a while, so it's hard to get completely worked up about the fact that it's gone part way down," said Kenneth Rogoof, professor of economics at Public Policy at Harvard University.

He says what happened this week is what he calls a re-calibration, but not a catastrophe.

"Nobody quite knew what it went up so far, but I think the news is good. Global growth is very strong, U.S. growth is strong, profits are strong, wages are up, but I think what investors are nervous about is that interest rates might start going up," Rogoof added.

That idea of higher interest rates to curb inflation indeed has investors nervous about what comes next, Brennan reported. So what should you do now as the market still shakes out?

"This is a normal market cycle, and I think investors who are in it for the long term should just get comfortable with that," said DeCambre.

"To try to stay calm, sure look at your portfolio – but maybe not right now in the middle of the storm," Rogoof added.

What about seniors who are concerned about the immediate future? Experts say it's not time for taking risks. You should be checking to see if you feel it's the time to get out of the market, especially with fears of inflation.

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