Monday, stocks fell slightly in Asia, rose slightly in Europe, and closed little changed in the U.S. on light volume. Tuesday, stocks in Asia gained slightly, rose 0.3% in Europe, and 0.6% in the U.S. on moderate volume. IBM once again closed above the $140 benchmark.
Wednesday, stocks in Asia fell 0.4%. In Europe and the U.S. fell slightly in moderate volume. The VXO dipped 7% to close at 12.66. IBM again dropped to close below the 140 mark. Thursday, stocks fell 0.5% in Asia, slightly in Europe, and 0.3% in the U.S. on moderate volume. Friday, stocks closed little changed in Asia and Europe but gained 0.6% in the U.S. on moderate volume. The VXO fell 5% to close at 12.21. The S&P 500 Index topped off the week with a record-high close. Precious metals gained 1% while their miners advanced three times that amount.