Monday in Asia stocks gained 0.6%. In Europe and the U.S. they were nearly unchanged on low volume. Precious metals gained 1% and their miners gained about twice that.
Tuesday, stocks in Asia rose 0.9% in anticipation of Janet Yellen’s testimony before Congress. In Europe and the U.S., stocks rose 1.3% and 1.2% respectively on low volume as Yellen said nothing new. The VXO headed south nearly 8% to close at 12.75 while the 10-Year U.S. Treasury Bond yield rose 1.5% to close at 2.72%. This really felt like artificial movement. Perhaps it was anticipation of the latest shameful RINO sellout. The only rational, honorable justification I can come up with for this vote is that if the Republican establishment knows the long-overdue stock market reversal is eminent.
Wednesday, stocks in Asia rose 1.1% as the upward momentum continued. Here’s an interesting chart indicating the real status of the new home market . In Europe, stocks rose 0.7%, but in the U.S., stocks closed flat on low volume. The VXO rose about 6% to close at 13.38 while the 10-Year U.S. Treasury Bond yield rose 1.6% to close at 2.78%. Gold miners dropped a bit more than 2%.
While Thursday brought a turnaround in Asian stocks which fell 1%, in Europe stocks closed nearly unchanged. In the U.S., stocks strangely rose 0.5% on low volume. That was enough to bring the Dow Jones Industrial Average back above the 16000 level. The VXO fell nearly 6% more to close at 12.70. Precious metals shot up about 2% and their miners gained about twice that amount as gold rose above the $1300 per ounce level.
Friday, stocks rose again — in Asia 0.4%, in Europe 0.5% and in the U.S. also 0.5% on low volume. Precious metals and their miners shot up over two percent and the VXO dropped 4.5% to end the week at 12.13.
For the week, precious metals and their miners rose about 7%, the VXO fell 15% and stocks rose 2.5%. I would not be surprised to see precious metals stocks fall hard whenever this current stock market euphoria comes to its well deserved end. With stocks again flirting with all-time highs, what the market needs now is a fresh new crop of greater fools.