Thursday

U.S. stocks climbed today for a fourth straight day of gains, as encouraging Chicago-area economic data and a pledge from German banks to support heavily indebted Greece boosted investor sentiment as the second quarter came to a close. More clarity pertaining to Greece has prompted a swift rally this week. German banks agreed today to take part in a new aid program for Greece by accepting longer maturities for bonds that currently are due by 2014, helping the country avoid a default. Also boosting sentiment, a survey of Chicago-area purchasing managers beat economists' expectations handily. The strong figure contrasted with several weeks of tepid economic data. DJIA +152.92 Nasdaq +33.03 S&P 500 +13.23.

Wednesday

U.S. stocks advanced today as investors cheered a Greek austerity package and financial stocks jumped following a major settlement on mortgage-backed securities. Bank of America climbed 3% and other big banks gained ground after BofA reached an $8.5 billion settlement on investor claims over securities purchased before the U.S. housing-market collapse. In U.S. economic data, the number of people who signed contracts to buy previously occupied homes rose last month, though the figures were still low from a historical perspective. DJIA +72.73 Nasdaq +11.18 S&P 500 +10.74.

Tuesday

The energy and consumer-discretionary sectors led a broad rally in U.S. stocks today, as investors warmed to riskier assets amid signs of progress in Greece's debt crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.21% for the measure's biggest one-day gain since April 20. Caterpillar led blue-chips with a gain of 3%. McDonald's rose 2.5% and Home Depot added 2.4%. A mixed batch of U.S. economic data showed that U.S. home prices rose in April from a month earlier, the first increase in eight months. But a June consumer-confidence reading was slightly lower than May's, disappointing expectations. DJIA +145.13 Nasdaq +41.03 S&P 500 +16.57.

Monday

U.S. stocks soared, rebounding from three days of losses, as the technology sector surged and financial stocks jumped on banking capital requirements that were less oppressive than expected. Microsoft, a Dow component, jumped 4.4%. The software giant is expected to introduce a cloud version of its Office application this week. Today's moves came after international regulators agreed to require the world's largest banks to hold an extra layer of financial padding. The agreement will force global banks that are considered too-big-to-fail to maintain capital cushions that are significantly thicker than other institutions. Still, investors and analysts found solace that the capital requirements don't appear to be as burdensome as originally feared. DJIA +108.98 Nasdaq +35.39 S&P 500 +11.65.

Thursday

U.S. stocks erased most of their steep early losses as traders took action on reports that European leaders had reached a breakthrough on a Greek austerity plan. Investors had no shortage of negative headlines earlier in the session. A day after the Fed downgraded its assessment of the U.S. economy, oil shares tumbled when the IEA said 60 million barrels of oil would be released from emergency supplies in what it described as a necessary stopgap for lost Libyan oil exports. After slumping all session, major indexes shot up after a Greek official said the country had agreed with the International Monetary Fund and the European Union on a five-year austerity plan. DJIA -59.67 Nasdaq +17.56 S&P 500 -3.64.