A disappointing Japanese GDP report broke the markets recent winning streak on Monday, although volume and volatility were low. A positive US retail sales report and several strong earnings report failed to ignite stocks on Tuesday, as the major indexes stayed near the unchanged mark. Stocks were once again listless on Wednesday with little change, perhaps a relief to investors remembering the mayhem the stock market experienced a year previous in August 2011. On Thursday stocks broke out of their doldrums with a solid gain that pushed the major indexes close to multi-year highs. Small gains pushed the Dow and S&P even closer to multi-year highs on Friday.
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