Exuberance over last week’s very positive non-farm payroll report still lingered on Monday, leading stocks to a half-percent gain on Monday, as oil prices exceeded $100/barrel once again. On Tuesday news of Microsoft’s $8.5 billion buyout of Skype propelled the market to another solid gain. Monday’s and Tuesday’s gained were effectively erased on Wednesday as the Euro dropped on further concern over Greek and Portuguese debt. On Thursday the seesaw market action continued with another half-percent gain following a morning swoon in stock prices. Greece’s debt weighed on the market once again on Friday, outweighing a positive consumer sentiment report. The major indexes finished down over a percent.

Stocks finished the week largely unchanged despite rather large swings throughout the week.
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