Here’s an interesting article that came out during the weekend that on the prospective competitor to the dollar in the world reserve currency competition. Another article came out later in the week that indicates the stock buyback engine may be slowing a bit in the near term.
Monday, stocks rose in Asia 1.1% — continuing U.S. momentum from Friday. Stocks fell 0.7% in Europe and closed virtually unchanged in the U.S. on low volume. Precious metals gained 1% and their miners rose about twice that amount.
Tuesday, stocks closed flat in Asia, rose 0.3% in Europe, and in the U.S. fell 0.5% on low volume. The NASDAQ dropped below the 5000 mark and the S&P 500 Index breached below the 2100 level. The 10-Year U.S. Treasury bond yield declined 2% to close at 1.88% while the VXO rose 7% to close at 13.73.
Wednesday, stocks rose slightly in Asia but fell 1.1% in both Europe and the U.S. on low moderate volume. The VXO shot up 17% to close at 16.07. This brought the remaining of the big three stock indices, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, down well below its benchmark 18,000 level. The 10-Year U.S. Treasury bond yield rose 2% to close at 1.92%.
Thursday, stocks fell 0.8% in Asia and Europe. The big news of the day was the war breaking out in Yemen. In the U.S. they fell 0.3% on low moderate volume. The 10-Year U.S. Treasury bond yield rose 4.5% to close at 2.01% while oil shot up to over $50 per barrel, but precious metals miners tumbled 2%. Friday, stocks declined again in Asia — this time 0.7%. In Europe, they closed slightly higher, and in the U.S. changed little on low volume.