Monday, stocks closed nearly unchanged in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. on low volume. Precious metals miners fell 2% and the 10-Year U.S. Treasury Bond yield fell 2% to close at 1.54. While I have no Facebook account and foresee never having one, here’s an interesting article that shows how loathed the Federal Reserve even among Facebook users.
Tuesday, stocks rose 0.4% in Asia, 0.9% in Europe, and 0.3% in the U.S. on low volume. Precious metals miners lost 1%. Wednesday, stocks closed nearly unchanged in Asia, rose in Europe 0.3%, and fell in the U.S. 0.5% on low volume. IBM closed below $160 per share, the VXO gained 12% to close at 12.00, precious metals lost 2.5%, and their miners plummeted 8%.
Thursday, stocks fell slightly in Asia, fell 0.8% in Europe, but closed virtually unchanged on low volume in the U.S. as “traders” waited to hear what Janet Yellen would say at Jackson Hole on Friday. The VXO rose 5% to close at 12.54, and Precious metals miners shed another 1%.
Friday, stocks fell 0.6% in Asia, rose that same amount in Europe, and fell 0.3% in the U.S. on low volume. The Yellen speech was the big news, but as usual, it was hard to draw much information from it. Traders responded positively to it regardless until Stanley Fischer rained a bit on their party. However, the U.S. Treasury Bond yield shot up 4% to close at 1.64.