The market rose modestly on Friday and finished the week with a gain of nearly 2%. Corporate earnings in most part came in better than expected as both Oracle and Research in Motion posted better than expected results following yesterday's close. Consumer confidence, on the other hand, came in worse than expected but investors in general ignored the negative news. Recently, investors started to focus on positive news instead of negative news, which could be a sign for positive movements in the next few weeks.
 
Most major sectors finished the session higher led by industrials and telecom. The CRB commodity index dipped 0.1%. The US dollar was mixed against most currencies. Treasury yields were lower. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged. The VIX index rose less than 1 point. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was neutral compared to the previous session.

The market finished its second mixed session during the past three days on Thursday. Economic news was in general mixed as well. Initial claims dropped to 450K for the latest week, which was better than 460K expected. September Phiadelphia Fed Index improved to -0.7 after it touched a 13-month low of -7.7 in the previous month. However, the consensus was calling for a reading of 2.0.

Most major sectors finished the session little changed. The CRB commodity index rose 0.4%. The US dollar was mixed against most currencies. Treasury yields were higher. 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 neutral compared to the previous session.

The market registered another modest gain on Wednesday despite some negative economic news. The September NY Empire Manufacturing Index slipped to 4.1 from 7.1 and a reading of 6.4 had been expected. Industrial production increased 0.2% in August while a rise of 0.3% had been expected. In other top financial stories, Japan decided to intervene in currency markets for the first time in six years. The yen was moving lower by more than 2 points against the dollar as a result.
 
Most major sectors finished the session higher led by consumer staples and health care . The CRB commodity index dropped 0.4%. The US dollar was mixed against most currencies. Treasury yields were mixed. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged. The VIX index rose less than 1 point. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was neutral compared to the previous session.

The market finished the Tuesday in a mixed fashion amid profit-taking. But given that the market has gained over 5% so far in September, it shouldn't be too surprise that some retreat will happen from time to time. Economic news for the session was mostly better than expected. Retailer sales in August rose 0.4% vs. 0.3% expected. Excluding auto sales, it rose 0.6% vs. 0.3% expected. Business Inventory also rose more than expected and gained 1% in July. The volume, however, continued to be light as trading volume on the NYSE failed to break 1 billion shares for the eighth straight session. The gold price hit a fresh all time high in today's trading.
 
Most major sectors finished the session higher led by tech and health care . The CRB commodity index rose 0.9%. The US dollar was lower against most currencies. Treasury yields were lower. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged. The VIX index rose less than 1 point. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was neutral compared to the previous session.

The market resumed its advancing pace following the weekend and registered its seventh gain during the past eight sessions. The release of the Basel III was certainly a factor in today's rally. According to the latest international financial regulation code, the required common equity for international banks will increase to 4.5% from the current 2.0% and a capital conservation buffer of 2.5% is necessary. In addition, the new requirements will be phased in over a nine year span. The release of the Basel III somewhat unnerved investors as some had feared of even stricter rules. As a result, the financial sector was the biggest gainer in today's trading.
 
Most major sectors finished the session higher led by financials and tech. The CRB commodity index rose 0.9%. The US dollar was lower against most currencies. Treasury yields were lower. 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 heavier compared to the previous session.