The major indexes were down 1% to start the week on Monday as the volatility that was absent for much of 2012 has begun to return to roil the markets. On Tuesday, the Dow fell over 100 points for a third consecutive session on more Eurozone fears. The damage would have been worse if it had not been for a report that the Fed is closer to taking action to stimulate the economy. Stocks finished mixed on Wednesday as positive earnings reports from Boeing and Caterpillar were offset by an earnings miss by Apple. On Thursday. word that the European Central Bank might start a bond-buying program sparked a rally in the US markets that lead to a 200+ point gain for the Dow. The early week jitters were completely forgotten on Friday as the Dow surged to a nearly 200 point gain on renewed optimism for Euro Central Bank action, as the Dow broke the 13000 barrier for the first time since May.
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The major indexes kicked off the week on Monday with a small decline following the previous Friday’s huge upswing. Retail sales declined for the third month in a row, causing concern that the fragile economic recovery might be in jeopardy. On Tuesday, stocks initially fell after a non-committal speech by Fed Chair Ben Bernanke, but rebounded late in the day for a moderate gain on hope that Fed intervention might still happen despite Bernanke’s reticence. The gains continued on Wednesday, buoyed by a positive US home construction report, as well as several good earnings reports by major companies such as Honeywell. On Thursday, a strong earnings report by IBM outweighed disappointing US jobless, home sales, and manufacturing reports to lead the major indexes to another gain. Stocks finished the week on Friday with a triple-digit loss for the Dow on fresh concerns over a potential bailout of Spanish debt.
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The major indexes opened the week on Monday with minor losses brought on by a report over the weekend of a slowdown in the Chinese economy. Alcoa opened the second quarter earnings season on Tuesday with a less than stellar earnings report, sending the S&P 500 and the Dow to their fourth consecutive losing sessions. On Wednesday the slide continued when the Fed minutes for its June meeting indicated that monetary easing will not be happening any time in the immediate future. The Dow’s losing streak was extended to six sessions on Thursday, its longest in nearly a year. However, all the Dow’s weekly losses were erased on Friday, when the benchmark registered a 200 point gain on a surprisingly good earnings report form J.P. Morgan Chase.
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More weak economic news in the form of a disappointing US manufacturing report sunk stocks early on Monday, but hope that such an economic slow down might stimulate action from the world’s central banks pushed the Dow and S&P 500 to near the unchanged level for the day on Monday. A holiday-shortened session on Tuesday recouped some of Monday’s losses. The markets reopened on Thursday after the 4th of July holiday, but did not behave as expected, with moderate losses experienced by the major indexes despite positive US private-sector job news and the lowering of interest rates by both China and the European Central Bank. The slide accelerated on Friday following the release of a US labor report indicating that fewer jobs than expected had been created in June, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.2%.
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