The market continued to move higher on Friday with the Dow registering a gain of 102 points. It spent most of the session near the unchanged level but managed to move higher following the results of stress tests on European banks. Seven out of the 91 banks failed the stress test. Separately, Dow component GE raised its dividend and resumed share-repurchase for the first time in two years, which is viewed as a sign that the company is confident about economic recovery.
 
Most major sectors finished the session higher led by materials and telecom. The CRB commodity index was barely moved. The US dollar was lower against most currencies. Treasury yields were higher. The three-month US LIBOR dropped 1 bps to 49 bps. The VIX index dropped more than 1 points. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was neutral compared to the previous session.

The market tumbled on Wednesday and the loss essentially erased all gains from the previous two days. It started strong with better-than-expected earnings results coming from nearly all fronts. However, the gain was short-lived. And the market gave up grounds rather easily in the afternoon following comments from Fed Chairman Bernanke, who talked about "unusually uncertainty" in the current economy. The market took it as a cue that the Fed chief is looking for a "U"-shaped recovery in the economy.
 
All 10 major sectors finished the session lower led by financials and consumer discretionary. The CRB commodity index was barely moved. The US dollar was mixed against most currencies. Treasury yields were lower. The three-month US LIBOR dipped was unchanged. The VIX index rose more than 1 points. The market breath was negative on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was heavier compared to the previous session.

The market continued to move higher on Tuesday. The Nasdaq has the most impressive return of 1% even though both IBM and Texas Instruments failed to impress investors in their earnings reports. Separately, housing starts for June came worse than expected at 549K vs. 575k expected. Building permits for June, on the other hand, increased 2.1% to 586K, slightly better than expected.
 
Most major sectors finished the session higher led by materials and energy. The CRB commodity index rose 0.1%. The US dollar was lower against most currencies. Treasury yields were lower. The three-month US LIBOR dipped 1bps to 52 bps. The VIX index dropped more than 2 points. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was neutral compared to the previous session.

The market rallied modestly on Monday. Volume continued to be on the light side as typical summer season. The market is likely to be stuck in a trading range for the remainder of the summer. On the positive side, several uncertainties have been removed in the past week and they include Goldman Sachs settlement with the SEC, BP's oil spill temporarily halted and the final passage of the financial regulation bill. But between now and the end of the year, there are still a few uncertainties surrounding the market. They include the mid-term election, implementation of the financial regulation and potential slowdown in the Chinese economy. On top of that, tighter fiscal policy in Europe and the US may lead to a dip in the second half GDP.
 
All 10 major sectors finished the session higher led by consumer discretionary and energy. The CRB commodity index dipped 0.4%. The US dollar was higher against most currencies. Treasury yields were higher. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged. The VIX index was slightly lower. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was lighter compared to the previous session.