Monday, stocks closed unchanged in Asia, rose 0.7% in Europe, and rose slightly in the U.S. on light volume. The VXO fell 9% to close at 8.91. Precious metals and their miners fell about 2%. IBM managed to end the day back above the $150 benchmark.
Tuesday, stocks closed up 1.4% in Asia, 0.5% in Europe, and 0.5% in the U.S. on moderate volume. The VXO fell another 9% ending at 8.13. Wednesday stocks gained 0.9% in Asia but fell 0.3% in Europe and changed little in the U.S. on light volume. The 10-Year U.S. Treasury Bond yield fell 2%, to close at 2.32. The FOMC notes from the most recent meeting had a dovish slant.
Thursday was Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. Since U.S. markets weren’t open, other world markets had nothing to follow and predictably did nothing. Black Friday, stocks changed little. They closed up slightly in Asia and the U.S. and little changed in Europe on extremely low volume as U.S. markets closed early for the holiday. The VXO rose 5% to close at 8.51.