Monday, New Year’s Day, markets were closed for the holiday. Tuesday, stocks rose 0.9% in Asia, fell slightly in Europe, and gained 0.7% in the U.S. on strong volume. The VXO tumbled 14% to close at 8.16. The 10-Year U.S. Treasury Bond yield gained 2%, to close at 2.46. Precious metals rose 1% and their miners gained three times that amount. The NASDAQ closed above the 7000 mark for the first time. Among cryptos, ethereum had a strong day with ether gaining greater than 10%.
Wednesday, stocks moved up slightly in Asia, gained 0.5% in Europe, and rose 0.3% in the U.S. on strong volume. While there was nothing interesting in the latest FOMC minutes release, they are included her for completeness. . All three major stock indices finished the day with record closing highs.
Thursday, stocks rose in Asia 1.2%, in Europe 0.9%, and in the U.S. 0.6% on strong volume. The record close pattern continued for the major stock indices with the Dow Jones Industrial Average breaking through the 25,000 mark and the NYSE closing above the 13,000 level. IBM joined in to confirm the euphoria with a close above 160. This confirms that the repatriation provision and lower taxes will be used to pay down corporate debe or more likely to buy back stock. Friday, stocks rose in Asia 0.6%, in Europe 0.9%, and slightly in the U.S. on moderate volume. The record closing high syndrome continued for major stock indices.