As the markets continue to toil with the news flow out of Europe, stocks took it on the chin this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (chart) fell 317.87 points or 2.6%, the Nasdaq (chart) -91.52 points or 3.5%, the S&P 500 (chart) -35.53 points or 2.8% and the Russell 2000 (chart) finished the week off down 23.35 points or 3.1%. This despite Thursday’s release on jobless claims and manufacturing data which was very bullish for the markets.

So why the drop? One word, Europe! As long as negative headlines continue to hit the tape regarding Europe, I am afraid that the markets will continue this very volatile pattern it has been in for months now. However, after this week’s sell-off the S&P 500 (chart) did manage to hold key technical support levels above the 1200 mark. Also, with two weeks left in the trading year, it is possible that we could see year end window dressing instituted by fund managers. Window dressing is a strategy used by fund mangers to improve the appearance of their funds performance before each quarter’s end or year end. Let’s see if this comes into play over the next couple of weeks. Good luck to all.

Have a great weekend 🙂

~George