The market tumbled on Friday with all three major indexes finishing the session lower by around 3%. Some may attribute the sharp drop to a poor consumer sentiment reading. But it should be noted that consumer sentiment is not a reliable indicator to predict future consumer spending. In other words, the market merely used the poor data as an excuse for today's selloff. So what is behind today's sudden drop? It could just be computer-driven program trading that dominated in this option expiry date. For the week, all three major indexes were off by a little more than 1% but they are still on track to post gains for the month.
 
All 10 major sectors finished the session lower led by financials. The CRB commodity index dipped 0.8%. The US dollar was higher against most currencies. Treasury yields were lower. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged. The VIX index was higher by more than 1 point. The market breath was negative on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was heavier compared to the previous session.

The market finished little changed for the second straight sessions as investors digested mixed news from earnings and economy. The Dow component JP Morgan posted a much better-than-expected earnings results for its second quarter while Goldman Sachs got a boost in its share price after CNBC reporting that the SEC would make a settlement with the firm. Separately, BP shares also got a lift as reports came that the company seemed to manage to contain the spill of oil. The euro, meanwhile, touched a fresh two-month high as it broke the $1.30 level. In other economic news, weekly initial claims came in better than expected largely due to GM didn't close its plants this year. The Philadelphia Fed index, on the other hand, came in worse than expected, indicating a slowdown in the manufacturing sector.
 
Most major sectors finished the session higher led by utilities and health care. The CRB commodity index rose 0.8%. The US dollar was lower against most currencies. Treasury yields were lower. The three-month US LIBOR dipped 1 bps to 52 bps. The VIX index was slightly higher. The market breath was neutral on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was neutral compared to the previous session.

The market finished the Wednesday relatively flat. Both the Dow and the Nasdaq extended their winning streak to seven sessions. Better-than-expected earnings results from Intel gave technology a boost. Separately, the latest FOMC meeting minutes showed latest Fed projection for the economy. The Fed is now looking for 2010 real GDP growth in the range of 3% to 3.5%, down from previously estimation of 3.2% to 3.7%. For 2011, it is looking for a growth rate of 3.5% to 4.2% compared with previous estimation of 3.4% to 4.5%. In other economic news, retail sales for June fell more than expected and it also marked the first back-to-back decline since the recession ended.
 
Most major sectors finished the session higher led by tech and industrials. The CRB commodity index rose 0.1%. The US dollar was mixed against most currencies. Treasury yields were lower. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged. The VIX index was slightly higher. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was neutral compared to the previous session.

The market registered another sizable gain on Tuesday with all three major indexes finishing higher by at least 1%. Positive earnings results from Alcoa and a surge in the euro provided investors with confidence to bid up prices. The euro touched a fresh 2-month high against the dollar following a successful debt auction in Greece. It didn't give up grounds even though Moody's downgraded Portugal's debt. Separately, trade balance for May came in at a deficit of $42.3 billion, slightly more than economists had been expecting.
 
All 10 major sectors finished the session higher led by consumer discretionary and financials. The CRB commodity index rose 1.4%. The US dollar was lower against most currencies. Treasury yields were higher. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged. The VIX index was slightly higher. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was heavier compared to the previous session.

The market continued to move higher in the opening session of the new week although the pace was not as vigorous as the week before. The trading activities, however, were extremely low with only 850 million shares changed hands on the NYSE. After the closing bell, the Dow component Alcoa will be the first to kick off the second quarter earnings season. Investors have trimmed their expectations for the earnings outlook and in general, they expect companies to issue cautious outlook for the second half.
 
Most major sectors finished the session higher led by tech and utilities. The CRB commodity index dropped 0.9%. The US dollar was higher against most currencies. Treasury yields were mixed. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged. The VIX index dropped less than 1 point. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was similar compared to the previous session.