The market took another step down on Monday on continued Europe-debt concerns as well as uncertainty in the US debt ceiling debate. On Tuesday, the Dow had its best day of 2011 with a 200 point surge on positive earnings reports from IBM and Coca-Cola and optimism over the “Gang of Six” plan to raise the US debt ceiling. The optimism was short-lived though as stocks were effectively unchanged on Wednesday, despite a surprisingly strong earnings report from Apple. On Thursday the Dow posted another 150+ point gain as US debt negotiations between the President and Congress seemed to be making progress. The major indexes were mixed on Friday as a glum earnings report from Caterpillar offset an agreement concerning Greek debt.

The major indexes made positive strides this week despite debt ceiling concerns.

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The market fell over a percent on Monday on renewed concern over European debt and the lingering effects of last Friday’s poor jobs report. On Tuesday stocks lost ground again following Moody’s Investor Services downgrade of Ireland’s credit rating to “junk”. The major indexes rebounded on Wednesday on remarks by Fed Chair Bernanke stated that the Fed would be ready to respond with further quantitative easing if the economy fails to respond in the near future. On Thursday, stocks sunk once again after Bernanke said that the Fed is not considering any further bond-buying programs. The market rebounded on Friday after Google announced a huge jump in quarterly profit, as investors used the good news to overlook the Standard’s and Poor warning that US debt might be downgraded. The Dow finished the week negative for the eighth time in the last eleven weeks.

All the major indexes lost significant ground this week.

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The markets opened the holiday-shortened week on Tuesday with a slight loss for the Dow and S&P 500, as the five-day winning streak from last week was broken. On Wednesday, stocks edged up despite a downgrade of Portugal’s debt to “junk” and a rise by 0.25% of China’s lending rates. The Dow came within 100 points of its 2011 high on Wednesday in reaction to positive retail sales and manufacturing reports. However, on Friday a very disappointing June jobs report, where only 18,000 jobs were added to the economy and unemployment creeped up to 9.2% weighed stocks down considerably. But despite a large gap down in the morning, stocks finished with only a moderate loss.

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Stocks soared on Monday following news that new international requirements on the amount of capital so-called “too-big-to-fail” banks need to keep on hand were less stringent than originally expected. On Tuesday, the Dow had its biggest gain in over two months as investors rejoiced over a potential resolution to Greece’s debt crisis. US home prices also rose for the first time in eight months. Stocks advanced once again on Wednesday, with Greece passing a controversial austerity measure as a first step to calm default concerns. On Thursday, the second quarter ended with a fourth consecutive win. Still, the markets took a sizeable hit this quarter, despite the recent rally. Friday kicked off the new quarter with another huge gain to finish the week five-for-five, with a very positive manufacturing sector report for June indicating a pick-up in economic activity.

It was a stand-out week for all the major indexes, with large gains registered across the board.

The U.S.financial markets will be closed Monday, July 4, 2011, in observance of Independence Day.

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A plan to deal with the Greek debt situation led stocks upward on Monday to a healthy gain. On Tuesday, the Dow rose over 100 points on continued optimism over Greek debt relief, while the market awaited the upcoming Fed meeting. The major indexes were unable to keep mid-day gains on Wednesday when Fed Chair Bernanke failed to say something unexpectedly positive in his post-meeting address. On Thursday, the Dow dropped precipitously in the morning, but managed to finish with only a moderate loss as investors reacted negatively to a plan by the International Energy Agency to release more oil onto the global market. Friday ended the week with yet another loss as concern over Italian banks weighed on investors’ minds more than an upward revision in the first quarter GDP to 1.9% growth encouraged investors.

The Dow finished down for the seventh time in eight weeks.
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On Monday, a couple of high profile buyouts failed to propel stocks past the unchanged level, as concerns over the health of the economy continue. The market finally delivered the long-awaited snapback from oversold levels on Tuesday with the Dow logging its largest gain in a month. Those gains were erased on Wednesday following rioting in Greece due to the frustration over the Mediterranean country’s economic woes. Greek debt fear abated somewhat on Thursday, as the Dow and S&P 500 made modest gains, but the NASDAQ slid once again. On Friday stocks managed moderate gains despite no clearcut solution to Greek debt.

The Dow and the S&P 500 broke their six week losing streak, although just barely.
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Troubles for the market continued on Monday with a sizeable loss on renewed concern over the slowing economy, as the S&P 500 dipped below 1300 for the first time since late March. On Tuesday stocks dropped for a fifth consecutive day after a late-day plunge ensued following Fed Chair Bernanke remarks outlining a slower-than-expected economic recovery. The major indexes dropped for a sixth consecutive day on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 hitting its longest losing streak since early 2009. Stocks finally had a winning day on Thursday, the first of the month of June, as investors were pleased that that the US trade deficit shrank unexpectedly in April. The bounce was short-lived, as stocks plummetted again on Friday, with the Dow breaking below the 12000 mark for the first time since mid-March.

Stocks fells for the sixth straight week, as economic woes persist[table id=14 /]

It was a shortened trading week due to Monday’s holiday for Memorial Day. Stocks jumped Tuesday on optimism that another Greek debt crisis would be averted thanks to help from European nations. Both the Dow and S&P 500 surged more than 1%. However, May was the worst month for the Dow since last August of last year. The market fell very hard on Wednesday driven by renewed economic worries. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all fell more than 2%. Weak employment, production, and other data suggest the economic recovery may be sputtering. Stocks continue to drift down Thursday. The markets mitigated their losses Friday with the broad market gaining approximately 1%.

Stocks fells for the fifth straight week, the longest decline for the Dow since July 2004.
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On Monday the Dow dropped 130 points on more European debt concern, this time a Standard and Poor’s downgrade of Italian debt. Weak manufacturing and service sector reports coupled with an increase in new-home sales in April led to a slight delcline in stock prices on Tuesday. The market rebounded slightly on Wednesday, ending a three-day losing streak. On Thursday, stocks once again logged a small gain despite a rise in jobless claims. However, the declining volume as the long Memorial Day weekend approaches makes it difficult to attach any significance to stock movements. Volume plummeted dramatically on Friday with stocks making slight gains to finish off the week with a loss.

The Dow and S&P 500 suffered a fourth consecutive losing week. The S&P 500 (-0.2%) could not quite make it to the positive, while the Russell 2000 (0.9%) managed a gain.

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Stocks ticked downward on Monday on renewed concern over the health of the recovering economy following weak manufacturing and housing reports. On Tuesday the Dow took a heavier hit than the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 as more concerning news over the health of the economy continues to cast a shadow on the market. Stocks snapped back on Wednesday when the Federal Reserve minutes indicated that the Fed will not change their monetary policy in the near future, preserving low interest rates for the time being. On Thursday, disappointing manufacturing and home sales reports were more than offset by exuberance over the doubling of networking website Linkedln’s stock price on its first day of trading after its IPO. Stocks retreated moderately on Friday following a downgrade of Greek debt and disappointing earnings and sales reports from Gap and Aerepostale.

It was an over all down week for stocks owing to Friday’s poor performance.
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