Monday, stocks fell 1.3% in Asia, 2.4% in Europe, and 0.9% in the U.S. on moderate volume. Many round numbers were breached. The S&P 500 Index fell below 2000 and gold dropped below the $1200 per ounce mark. Precious metals miners crashed about 7% while oddly the VXO was down 12% to close at 18.38 below the benchmark 20 level. Crude oil continued its crash to close down over 4% at $55.41 per barrel. One particularly bizzare statistic was that the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell one one hundredth of a point short of 100 at 99.99.
Tuesday, stocks fell in Asia 0.8%, shot up in Europe 1.9%, and moved little overall in the U.S. on low volume. Major U.S. indices did show greater weakness and the broken VXO resolved by jumping up nearly 18% to close at 21.66. The big news for the day was the crash of the ruble.
Wednesday, stocks fell 0.8% again in Asia. In Europe they rose slightly, but in the U.S. stocks shot up 2.1% on moderate volume. The S&P 500 Index broke strongly above the 2000 level while gold tumbled below $1200 per ounce and the VXO plummeted nearly 20% to close at 17.62. While the ruble stabilized, the big news for the day was the FOMC statement and press conference. It contained nothing new, but perhaps it was at least not too hawkish. Despite gold’s fall, precious metals miners gained over 5%.
Thursday, stocks in Asia reversed their slide and rose 0.7%. In Europe, they exploded 3% higher and in the U.S. they shot up 2.2% on moderate volume. The VXO fell 16% to close at 14.88. Precious metals miners closed 4% higher while the 10-Year U.S Treasury Bond yield rose 2.6% to close at 2.2%. Of course, none of this is unusual. Please ignore the man behind the curtain. Some speculate this lunacy had something to do with Friday being the final day options expire this year.
Friday, stocks followed the lead from the West and gained 2%. In Europe and the U.S. they rose more moderately — 0.4% and 0.8% on strong volume fueled by quadruple witching day. For the week, stocks powered 3.7% higher while the VXO fear index plummeted 32% to close at 14.63.