The cryptocurrency carnage from the previous week dragged on through the weekend. Monday, stocks in Asia fell 0.4%. Markets were unchanged in Europe. In the U.S., stocks fell 1.9% on moderate volume. The Dow, S&P, and NASDAQ fell below benchmarks of 25,000, 2600, and 7000 respectively. The VXO moved up 13% to close at 24.95. Precious metals rose 2%.
Tuesday, stocks fell 0.4% in Asia and 0.5% in Europe but in the U.S. — after meandering most of the day — closed with a 1.2% gain on strong volume. The VXO fell 10% to close at 22.81. That gain provided the fuel to bring the Dow back above 24.000 and the S&P above 2600. It felt like the FANGs were getting pumped by the Swiss National Bank or some other manipulator as IBM lost ground to close below 150.
Wednesday, stocks fell in Asia 1.1% and Europe 0.5 as trade wars heated up. Despite all of the negative news stocks moved up 0.8% in the U.S. on strong volume. This positive wave in the U.S. brought the Dow back above 24,000, the NASDAQ above 7000, and IBM above 150.
Thursday, stocks in Asia rose 0.5%, in Europe shot up 2.5% and in the U.S., the rally continued with a 0.7% gain on moderate volume. The 10-Year U.S. Treasury Bond yield gained 2%, to close at 2.83. Friday, stocks in Asia fell slightly, but plummeted 2.1% in Europe, and fell 1.8% in the U.S. on strong volume. The VXO moved up 15% to close at 22.93. The significant newsmakers of the day were:
- A disappointing employment report
- U.S. trade war with China.
- Powel’s testimony which gave no encouragement to the bulls.