Stocks were a mixed bag last week as the S&P 500 closed barely changed once again, the Dow slipped a bit and the Nasdaq finished out on a strong note. The Dollar Index fell while gold busted out to over $400 again. Crude oil has become decidedly less interesting in the absence of new record highs, leaving yours truly with far less to get hysterical about.

Despite all the bullish propaganda the market continues to struggle with gains. Sure, we saw a decent rally off the May lows but we’re about to complete our fourth consecutive month of no new gains. The March mini-bull market high in the S&P 500 remains unchallenged and last week’s action didn’t do much to inspire faith that it will be breached.

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Stocks were narrowly mixed last week as the major indices closed barely changed. The dollar finished on a weak note while gold posted healthy gains. Crude oil edged upwards a bit while prices at the pump continued to retreat from record highs.

Stocks finished out another rather uneventful week as participants continued to weigh various geopolitical concerns and economic uncertainties. The market is still neither here nor there, continuing to carve out a wide trading range or very possibly, a massive topping formation. Seems that every month we have something new to be concerned about and every month someone from the Fed comes out to tell us there’s nothing to worry about. And the market simply teeters back and forth, worrying and then feeling relieved again.

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Stocks came back to life last week as all the major indices posted substantial gains. The dollar gave up quite a bit of ground while gold continued to climb, finishing out the week with a new 1-month high. Meanwhile crude oil futures reversed from earlier gains to close under $40.

This week we wax a bit more philosophical. The market, still trapped primarily in back & forth neither-here-nor-there action for months, isn’t offering much to inspire our usual fare of stimulating prose and keen (ok, comical) insights.

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