Wednesday

All three major indexes continued to drop today as we wrapped up the second quarter of trading for the year. An upbeat reading on Chicago-area manufacturing activity and an uplifting European Central Bank auction encouraged investors, but disappointing data on U.S. private-sector employment pulled the market down. A report from Automatic Data Processing said private-sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 13,000 last month - much less than the gain of 60,000 expected by economists. In other markets, the euro strengthened today, while the U.S. Dollar Index fell slightly. DJIA -96.28 Nasdaq -25.94 S&P 500 -10.53.

Rough Day

Markets tumbled around 3% today as investors weighed the possibility of a slowdown. China's growth has moderated. This slower pace may be a harbinger of things to come. As expected, consumer confidence fell in May. The list of events that have dampened the mood is topped by an oil spill. Housing prices ticked up. DJIA -268.22 NASDAQ -85.47 S&P 500 -33.33

Not enough?

While there were bits of good news today, investors declared it wasn't enough. Jobless claims dropped slightly. Oracle's earnings are up 25%, and people are lined up around the block for the new Apple IPhone. What gives with the big drop at the end of the day? Financial reform is coming down to the wire, affecting that sector. Pfizer announced plans to pull a major drug, and other earnings were not as stellar as expected. The result was an end of the day drop for all indices. DJIA -145.64 NASDAQ -36.81 S&P 500 -18.35

Wednesday

Weak housing data and cautious remarks from the Federal Reserve fueled a volatile day in financial markets, leaving major stock indexes mixed at the closing bell, the dollar lower and Treasurys higher. The central bank's policy committee left its key interest rate target near zero, as expected. The likelihood that the Fed will keep rates low to spur the economy weighed on the dollar. But many traders were more focused on the economy's big picture, which has become murkier since a weak payrolls report earlier this month. DJIA +4.92 Nasdaq -7.57 S&P 500 -3.27.

Tuesday

The energy sector led an afternoon drop in stocks that left the market sharply lower at the close as traders worried about legal wrangling between the oil industry and Washington over post-spill drilling restrictions. Analysts said the late-day market selloff reflected uncertainty over possible legal skirmishes to come. Traders said today's slide was also exacerbated by the lack of long-term conviction among investors that has been the hallmark of the market the last few weeks, often contributing to late-day swings. Anxiety remained high over the health of the European banks causing the euro to decline against the dollar. DJIA -148.89 Nasdaq -27.29 S&P 500 -17.89.

Sports Friday

All eyes have been on basketball and soccer for the last 12 hours. I admit it. We were pulling for Boston at my house. We had a few winners on the market today. Caterpillar pushed the Dow with a good earnings report today. Most of the uptick came from Asia. Gold is hitting another high, as investors look for inflation protection. And 37 states saw declines in their unemployment rates. Mississippi's rate dropped 1%. While this is good news, the numbers may not tell the whole story on the employment picture. All in all, though, a good Friday. DJIA +16.70 S&P 500 +1.48 NASDAQ +2.64

Wednesday

Markets swayed between positive and negative territory for most of the session today. When all was said and done, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq were in the green, with the S&P 500 only slightly down from yesterday's gain. BP made an announcement that it will suspend its dividend for the rest of 2010. The producer's shares are down 46.5% since the explosion of one of its oil rigs on April 20. Apple gained almost 3% today after the company said it received on Tuesday the largest number of pre-orders to date for sales of its newest iPhone, which is said to be hitting stores later in the month. DJIA +4.69 Nasdaq +.05 S&P 500 -.62.

Tuesday

Stocks surged as nervousness subsided over the euro zone and a report of strong computer sales boosted technology stocks. All three major indexes were up over 2% by the end of the session, and today's gain put the S&P 500 back into positive territory for the year. It also put the Dow Jones Industrial Average within 24 points of its 2009 finish. In other markets, Spain's successful debt auction helped restore confidence in the euro zone, causing the euro to gain against the dollar. The yen was also higher against the dollar, which was down .7%. DJIA +213.88 Nasdaq +61.92 S&P 500 +25.60.

Monday

Stocks were up for most of the day but suffered a late slump due to investors rushing to take money off the table following a solid rally since last week. Strong economic data from Europe and upbeat words from a Federal Reserve governor helped to bolster sentiment through much of today's session. The euro lost some ground today but remained stronger versus the dollar after Moody's Investors Service cut Greece's government bond ratings to Ba1 - a junk-grade rating. DJIA -20.18 Nasdaq +.36 S&P 500 -1.97.

Friday

A late surge left major stock indexes with modest gains today. Luckily this week investors' fears about global growth eased a bit. Mixed signals about the U.S. consumer kept the market in check through most of Friday's session, but luckily all three major indexes were able to pull into positive territory by the closing bell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 2.8% for the week, the Nasdaq rose 1.1%, and the S&P 500 was up 2.5% for the week. Let's hope the climb will continue next week. DJIA +38.54 Nasdaq +24.89 S&P 500 +4.76.

Monday

Stocks fell to end below their "flash crash" lows, hurt by worries about U.S. consumer spending and European credit. The Dow Jones Industrial Average's close marked a 7-month low for the average and a dip below the trough of 9869.62 on May 6, when a sudden computer-generated wave of selling hit. A lot of today's loss came after the Federal Reserve released data painting a mixed picture of consumer borrowing in the U.S. The report suggested that Americans aren't too comfortable with their finances despite the budding economic recovery. In other markets, the dollar strengthened against the euro and the pound but weakened against the yen. DJIA -115.48 Nasdaq -45.27 S&P 500 -14.41.

Friday

Stocks plunged today with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling well below the 10,000 mark. This came following a weaker-than-expected jobs report, which hit investors while they were already on edge over the possibility of a sovereign-debt crisis spreading across Europe. This news caused the euro to fall to it's lowest point in four years. With the first week of June under our belts, it's safe to say this month is off to a rough start. Hopefully next week holds a turning point for us. DJIA -323.31 Nasdaq -83.86 S&P 500 -37.95.

Wednesday

Stocks posted modest gains for most of the day today then jumped later in the afternoon, led by a sharp rebound in the energy sector following its recent struggles related to the BP oil spill. Exxon Mobil and Chevron both gained more than 2% today helping the Dow Jones Industrial Average's performance. All three major indexes have more than recovered from their steep losses during Tuesday's session. These gains came from strong economic data and a few favorable corporate announcements that were able to overshadow traders concerns about the oil spill. DJIA +225.52 Nasdaq +58.74 S&P 500 +27.67.

Tuesday

Well, the market's performance today wasn't the best way to start off June, but hopefully in the upcoming weeks we can get back on track and make up some of what we have lost. The energy sector led a slide in the broader stock market following BP's failure to stop the flow of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico. Shares of BP fell 15% - their worst one-day percentage drop since October of 1974. On a more positive note, reports released today showed U.S. construction spending in April registered its biggest gain in nearly 10 years, rising 2.7%. Also, manufacturing activity has expanded more than expected. In other markets, the dollar strengthened against the euro. DJIA -112.61 Nasdaq -34.71 S&P 500 -18.70.