Monday, stocks closed nearly unchanged in Asia and the U.S. on low volume but fell 0.5% in Europe. Precious metals and their miners moved up 3%. Tuesday, the big news was a missile launch provocation by Fat Boy. He shot this one over Japan. It was enough to move the markets a bit for a few hours. Stocks in Asia ended down slightly, fell 1% in Europe but closed nearly unchanged in the U.S. on low volume.
Wednesday, stocks rose slightly in Asia, gained 0.7% in Europe, and closed little changed in the U.S. on low volume. Thursday, stocks closed nearly unchanged in Asia, gained another 0.7% in Europe, and rose 0.6% in the U.S. on moderate volume. VXO fell 5% to close at 9.32 while precious metals gained 1% and their miners advanced three times that amount. Friday, stocks in Asia closed virtually unchanged, in Europe rose 0.6%, and in the U.S. gained 0.4% on low volume. The 10-Year U.S. Treasury Bond yield closed up 2% to close at 2.16.