Tuesday

Stocks fell as investors continued to worry about the European sovereign-debt crisis, but better-than-expected data on U.S. manufacturing and consumer confidence helped limit the drop. As market sentiment toward the euro zone sharply deteriorates, European officials are planning a new round of bank "stress tests" that are said to be more rigorous than the widely discredited exams conducted earlier this year. November posted the market's first monthly drop since August with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing in the red 1% for the month. DJIA -46.47 Nasdaq -26.99 S&P 500 -7.21.

Monday

Stocks fell today as investors worried that the $112.61 billion Irish bailout might not be enough to contain the euro-zone debt crisis. The Dow closed in the red .36% with its technology components among the average's worst performers. HP declined 1.4%, while IBM slid .7% after Gartner Inc. cut its world-wide personal-computer shipments forecast for the year. On the bright side, early reads from the Black Friday shopping weekend indicated that business was brisk and heavier than last year, especially in consumer electronics, toys and jewelry. DJIA -39.51 Nasdaq -9.34 S&P 500 -1.64.

Monday

Blue-chip stocks declined today, led by financials, as the market cringed over new details of widespread insider-trading investigations and Ireland's debt woes. Although the Dow closed in the red, it managed to regain most of its 100-point loss from earlier in the trading session. Leading the Dow's declines were Bank of America, down 3.1%, and J.P. Morgan Chase, which slid 2.3%. The market's early tumble came after Ireland over the weekend agreed to accept a bailout. Adding fuel to the fire, fresh worries over the financial sector arose when the Wall Street Journal reported that FBI agents raided the offices of three hedge funds amid a far-reaching insider-trading investigation. DJIA -24.97 Nasdaq +13.90 S&P 500 -1.89.

Thursday

Stocks soared as worries about Ireland's debt situation eased. The Dow jumped 1.6%, marking the blue-chip index's first gain in three days. The energy, materials and technology sectors led the index's climb as worries diminished about China and the scope of its inflation-cooling measures. DJIA +173.35 Nasdaq +38.39 S&P 500 +18.10.

Wednesday

The Dow fell for the fourth time in five days after a day of choppy trading that saw markets dragged down by financial stocks. The blue-chip average was helped by strong earnings by retailers, keeping the average above the 11,000 mark. Financial stocks led the declines after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Fed will require all 19 banks that underwent stress tests during the height of the financial crisis to undergo another review of their capital and their ability to absorb losses under an "adverse" economic scenario. DJIA -15.62 Nasdaq +6.17 S&P 500 +.25.