They are calling it the worst weekly performance this year! For the week the Dow Jones Industrial Average (chart) fell a modest 1.15%, the Nasdaq (chart) -0.41%, the S&P 500 (chart) -0.50% and the Russell 2000 (chart) basically closed the week unchanged. If this was the sharpest decline of the key indicies in 2012, I think the bulls will take it and the bears must be scratching their heads.

Coming into the new year, I don’t think anyone would of projected that the worst declines of the year for the major indexes would be a paltry 1% or so in a given week. Especially when you considered the enormous volatility that occurred in 2011. The week ahead may be back to the status quo for stocks as we will be in the final week of the first quarter of the trading year which should initiate the proverbial window dressing methods implemented by certain fund managers. Window dressing is a strategy used by institutional investors and mutual fund managers as the end of the quarter or year approaches to augment the performance of their respective funds or portfolios. In most instances these managers may sell the stocks in their portfolio that are at a loss and purchase high beta momentum stocks to improve the overall appearance and return on their portfolios. We will see if this strategy rings true by weeks end. Good luck to all.

Have a great weekend 🙂

~George