It was a listless Monday with the major indexes finishing with a very slight loss, as there was little news to propel the markets in either direction. On Tuesday, early day gains could not be maintained, and fell further when it became apparent that the S&P and Dow would not be setting new four year highs. The Dow had its third straight losing session on Wednesday. The loss was mitigated, however, by increased optimism following the release of the Fed minutes stating that several Fed members are leaning towards more stimulus if the economy does not pick up soon. On Thursday, selling accelerated when it became clear that not all the Fed members favor stimulus given that the US economy has maintained modest growth. The Dow finally finished with a gain on Friday, and a sizeable one at that, as the 100 point gain followed a report that Fed Chair Bernanke re-iterated a pledge to take action if more stimulus is needed.
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