NEW YORK, New York -- Wall Street went up on Friday, although gains were modest after bank shares in Europe came under scrutiny.
Friday saw a sell-off in Deutsche Bank, the giant German bank.
It could be crippled if there is a loss of confidence and a run on the bank. There is no fundamental reason why that should occur other than nervousness, according to George Ball, president of Sanders Morris Harris, told CNBC Friday.
Shares on European markets and elsewhere in the world were pounded, but the US markets held up, but not before seeing considerable volatility.
Ball said that the market is not frightened nor optimistic. The price action for the last month and a half, including today, is a jumble without any direction or conviction. The Standard and Poor's 500 advanced 22.27 points or 0.56 percent to 3,970. The Dow Jones industrials increased by 132.28 points or 0.41 percent to 32,237, up 132.28 points or 0.41 percent. The Nasdaq Composite gained 36.56 points or 0.31 percent to 11,823. Major currency pairs saw fluctuations throughout the day, which led to mixed results in the global foreign exchange markets approaching the close on Friday.
The euro-US dollar pair closed at 1.0759, down 0.64 percent from the previous day's close.
The Japanese yen pair fell by 0.02 percent to 130.75.
The Canadian dollar was down 0.14 percent to 1.3734 due to lower oil prices.
The British pound fell to 1.22272, a loss of 0.48 percent.
The Swiss franc rose to 0.9195, a gain of 0.36 percent approaching the U.S. close Friday, as investors sought safe-haven assets amid uncertainty in the markets.
The Australian dollar fell 0.50 percent to 0.6648, while the New Zealand dollar lost a hefty 0.79 percent to 0.6199.
The foreign exchange market saw mixed results, with some currency pairs strengthening while others weakened.
On Friday, the world stock markets outside the U.S. fell, with most major indices closing in the red. In London, the FTSE 100 closed at 7,405. 45, down 94.15 points or 1.26 percent, is down 94.15 points or 1.26 percent. The DAX Performance Index fell 253.16 points or 1.66 percent to 14,957 in Frankfurt. The CAC 40 in Paris also suffered losses, with a decline of 124.15 points or 1.74 percent to finish at 7,015. Other major indices were also affected, including the ESTX 50 PR.EUR, which fell by 76.52 points or 1.82 percent to close at 4,130. The Euronext 100 Index fell by 21.83 points or 1.64 percent to 1,307. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 in Japan was down 34.36 points or 0.13 percent to close at 27,385. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell by 133.96 points or 0.67 percent to close at 19,915. The SSE Composite Index in Shanghai fell by 21.00 points or 0.64 percent to close at 3,265. The Shenzhen Index was close to 11,634 at 28.93 points or 0.25 percent, on the other hand. Other indices closed in the red include the BEL 20 in Brussels, which fell by 31.28 points or 0.86 percent to close at 3,626. 44, and the S&P BSE Sensex in Mumbai, fell by 398.18 points or 0.69 percent to close at 57,527. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI in Kuala Lumpur also experienced a decline of 11.28 points or 0.80 percent to close Friday at 1,399. However, there were a few indices that closed in the green, including the IDX Composite in Jakarta, which gained 70.64 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 6,762. It was up by 9.52 points or 0.39 percent to close at 2,414, and the KOSPI Composite Index in Seoul, which was up by 9.52 points or 0.39 percent. It was a rough day for global stock markets outside the United States on Friday, with many indices seeing significant declines. The banking sector crisis in Europe will be a subject for investors to watch closely to see how it unfolds next week.