Hurricane Irene failed to keep Wall Street closed on Monday, and investors responded by sending stocks sharply higher on relief that the storm was not as destructive as predicted. On Tuesday the market recovered from a morning swoon to finish with a small gain after news that the Fed is considering quantitative easing to stimulate the economy. A very rocky August ended on Wednesday as the Dow edged into positive territory for the year. Still, the 4.4% monthly loss for the Dow was the worst for the month of August in a decade. On Thursday stocks ended a 4-day winning streak and closed down over 1% on concerns over Friday’s upcoming job report. Those fears were borne out on Friday as new job creation effectively ceased in August, raising the specter that a double dip recession is at hand. The Dow dropped over 250 points, an ominous start to the historically worst month of the year for the stock market.

Early gains in the week partially offset the slide on Thursday and Friday.
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