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.