Despite a slow Monday morning start following a disappointing report that US manufacturing had dipped in June, stocks were able to rebound and finish near the unchanged mark on increased speculation that global central bank action is inevitable. On Tuesday the month of July ended on a down note as moderate losses were had by the major indexes as investors held back on buying before hearing the Fed’s upcoming policy-setting statement. Stocks kicked off the month of August on Wednesday with a modest loss when Fed Chair Ben Bernanke failed to unveil any unexpected statement regarding the state of the US economy. On Thursday, the lack of a coherent plan from European Central Bank Chair Draghi sent stocks lower once again. All of the week’s woes were forgotten on Friday after a US payrolls report revealed that 163,000 new jobs were created in July, much better than expected. The Dow rose over 200 points, finishing the week at a three month high.
[table id=74 /]