It was the best week for the markets since more than a month, and they needed some good news. Even after this week’s rally, the Dow is up just over 1% for the year as we close in on the halfway point of 2015.
Monday markets reacted negatively to the breakdown of bailout talks in Greece. European officials said that the Greek government’s refusal to compromise squashed the talks. Domestically, United Technologies announced major changes to its aircraft division, including some unexpected layoffs. It was a rough start to the week, as the Dow dropped 107 points.
Tuesday investors turned a blind eye to the Greek crisis, choosing instead to focus on the following day’s Federal Reserve statement. Despite no news from Europe or the Fed on Tuesday, the Dow essentially reversed the previous day’s losses, gaining 113 points.
Wednesday the markets stayed relatively even for much of the day, awaiting the 2pm Federal Reserve statement—which eventually came and went with no new news. Fed Chair Janet Yellen did comment that “just about every member” of the committee is prepared for an interest rate hike in 2015. But the market’s reaction was muted, as the Dow went up just 31 points.
Thursday investors began to react in a serious manner to the latest Federal Reserve press conference. With the expected rate hike still a couple months off, the market bounced back. Inflation data showed the biggest Consumer Price Index increase in 2.5 years! But for the day, the Dow was up 180 points.
Friday Wall Street returned its focus to the Greece crisis, as the June 30 deadline grew closer. The European Central bank issues a report that on average, over 1 billion euros per days were withdrawn from Greek banks this week. Ahead of Greece’s Monday “do-or-die” summit meeting with European leaders, the Dow went down 101 points.
