Stock Market Yo-Yo - June 25 2010

The following are excerpts from articles in the Wall St. Journal over the past month describing what is driving the stock market. You’ll notice that what is ‘driving’ the stock market seems to change on a daily basis. Banks and financials are up! Banks and financials are down! Energy stocks are up! Energy stocks are down! Europe fears are waning! Europe is tanking!

It never ends.

Don’t think the market is manipulated? Notice how many times the Federal Reserve is mentioned in these articles on stocks. Also notice how many late day surges (up or down) are occurring. It’s no wonder that retail investors have left the stock market. People are beginning to realize that something is seriously wrong.

Looking back over the past few months – it would also appear that the market has been up on 95% of Mondays. Interesting.

jg – June 25, 2010
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June 25, 2010 - Persistent worries about the global economy are roiling the stock market, but they also are proving a boon for borrowers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled another 145.64 points on Thursday as Freddie Mac said that 30-year mortgage rates fell to their lowest level in almost 40 years.

June 24, 2010 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a slight gain, as investors across financial markets digested the Federal Reserve's cautious remarks on the state of the global economy.

June 23, 2010 - Stocks succumbed to a late-day selloff as weak housing data and a slide in energy stocks drove the broader market lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for a second day in a row, off 148.89 points.

June 19, 2010 - The Dow was up 2.3% for the week—the first time in seven months that it had back-to-back weekly gains of 2% or more. The gains on Friday capped a week in which worries about Europe eased, aided by Spain's completion of a successful debt offering.

June 16, 2010 - All the major indexes ended near or above where they began the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 213.88 points, or 2.1%, to 10404.77, leaving it within 24 points of its 2009 close. The rally came as successful debt auctions in Spain and Belgium allayed some fears that euro-zone countries could face problems in tapping international capital markets.

June 15, 2010 - A stock-market rally dried up following a downgrade of Greece's sovereign rating, which some investors seized as an opportunity to pare their bets after last week's solid gains. Strong economic data from Europe and upbeat words from a Federal Reserve governor helped lift assets closely correlated with global growth, including oil and commodity-backed currencies, for much of the day.

June 12, 2010 - A late surge Friday allowed the Dow Jones Industrial Average to wrap up its best weekly gain in almost four months, fueled by a partial change in investors' attention to matters other than Europe's credit woes. Traders cautioned that the recent fears about global growth haven't been banished completely. Mixed data on the health of the U.S. consumer held stocks in check through much of Friday. "We're still having some problems in the global financial system, but it seems each successive problem is smaller than the last one," said Malcolm Polley, chief investment officer at Stewart Capital Advisors.

June 10, 2010 - A rally in U.S. stocks fizzled late Wednesday after a report from the Federal Reserve and comments from German Chancellor Angela Merkel fed investors' unease about the global economy.

June 9, 2010 - Stocks staged a late rally, belying what was otherwise a day of continued anxiety about the state of the world economy. Even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 enjoyed an afternoon surge, signs of caution were evident.

June 8, 2010 - Stocks fell on Monday in a late-day selloff that took the Dow Jones Industrial Average below its lows of the May 6 "flash crash." "Global tensions are at a pinnacle," said Mike Daly, gold specialist at PFGBest in Chicago. That has prompted investors to move money into "tangible, safer assets."

June 7, 2010 - Markets are bracing for another rocky week as finance ministers around the world ready new defenses to keep the sovereign-debt crisis from spreading. Asian markets opened Monday sharply lower, and the euro continued to slide.

June 5, 2010 - Fresh concern about the health of the U.S. and European economies sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling back below 10000 and drove the euro to new four-year lows against the dollar. Friday got off to a struggling start as investors reacted to comments late Thursday from a Hungarian official who likened his nation's debt woes to those of Greece.

June 3, 2010 - Stocks rebounded to their third-biggest gain this year on Wednesday, buoyed by a sharp recovery in energy shares and new evidence that the U.S. economy is strengthening.

June 2, 2010 - Energy stocks suffered one of the worst one-day plunges since the Gulf of Mexico oil spill began, dragging the broader market lower.

May 29, 2010 - Between the "Flash Crash" and angst over the worsening crisis in Europe, stocks suffered a dismal May, posting their worst decline for the month since Franklin Roosevelt was in the White House.

May 28, 2010 - Investors embraced risk again throughout the financial markets, pushing stocks to their second-best day of the year and boosting the euro and commodities. Oil had its best one-day gain since last September.

May 27, 2010 - Stocks turned negative late in the session and the euro tumbled as investors' worries about global growth resurfaced, overshadowing strong U.S. data.

May 26, 2010 - After falling 292 points in the first 10 minutes of trading Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average clawed its way back to finish down just 22.82 points, or 0.23%, at 10043.75. The initial decline followed substantial stock pullbacks in Europe and Asia that left Tokyo, Hong Kong, London and Paris benchmark indexes all at their lows for the year. Investors were rattled by news that European banks are having to pay a premium to borrow dollars in interbank markets. Some investors said escalating tensions between North and South Korea contributed to the anxiety.

May 25, 2010 - Stocks staged a late-day tumble, wiping out Friday's gains, and sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its lowest close since early February.

May 22, 2010 - Stocks ended a tumultuous week on a high note Friday, led by a surge in financial stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reclaimed some lost ground, rising 125.38 points, or 1.3%, to 10193.39, after a late-day surge that most attributed to traders taking off bearish bets ahead of the weekend. The Dow fell 4% on the week.

May 21, 2010 - New worries about the health of the global economy flared Thursday, driving U.S. stocks to their first official correction since the bull market began last March, roiling credit markets and causing swings in currencies.

May 19, 2010 - Financial markets were rattled late Tuesday by Germany's move to restrict some bearish bets on bank stocks and sovereign bonds. U.S. stocks declined, the euro dropped to a four-year low, and oil descended to its first close below $70 a barrel since mid-December.