Monday, stocks rallied in Asia closing up 1.2%, while in Europe, they closed down slightly. In the U.S., stocks rose 1.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke back above the 15,000 level on very low volume. Tuesday, we were back to the Happy Days syndrome. Stocks in Asia rallied another 1.2% while in Europe they rose 1.3%, and in the U.S. 0.9% on low volume. The 10-Year Treasury Bond yield jumped up over 2% to close at 2.96% while precious metals slid about 2.5% and their miners twice that amount.
Wednesday (9/11), stocks in Asia closed flat. In Europe they rose 0.3%, and in the U.S. they gained 0.4% on low volume. Given that President Obama opened his mouth Tuesday night, it’s surprising that stocks did so well. Perhaps no one was listening. Precious metals miners recovered about 2% while the 10-Year Treasury Bond yield settled back to 2.92% despite a huge ($49 billion) bond offering by Verizon. Thursday, stocks rose slightly in Asia and closed flat in Europe. Here’s and interesting article indicating why the FOMC has to begin tapering QE. In the U.S., stocks declined 0.5% on low volume, precious metals and their miners crashed about 5%.
Friday, in Asia stocks fell back 0.4% while in Europe they gained slightly. U.S. gained 0.3% on extremely low volume. Precious metals miners recovered about 2%. For the week, stocks gained 2%.
