It was a short week on Wall Street due to the Memorial Day holiday. Investors are probably grateful for that, as Tuesday and Friday saw the markets drop a combined 250 points! When all was said and done, May finished with the Dow up just 1% for the year!
Monday the markets were closed in honor of the Memorial Day Holiday.
Tuesday the market dropped as the U.S. dollar continued to strengthen. Specifically, the Euro fell below $1.09 against the dollar, while the Japanese yen fell to its lowest point in almost eight years. It certainly took its toll on the Dow, which fell 190 points for the day.
Wednesday the market attempted to recover, as sentiment regarding Greece’s ability to repay their debts improved. The dollar gave back some of the previous day’s gains as well. It was a record-setting day for the NASDAQ, and the Dow gained 121 points.
Thursday the markets started downward immediately, as word emerged of a collapse in talks to resolve the Greek debt crisis. Jobless claims were slightly higher than expected as well. While the market looked forward to Friday’s 1st-quarter GDP revision, the Dow fell 36 points.
Friday the markets took their second beating of the week, as 1st-quarter GDP was revised down to -0.7%. The Dow initially fell almost 200 points off this revision Worries over the Greek credit crisis continued as well. When all was said and done on Friday, the Dow was down 115 points.
