Monday's trading continued the upward trend, set last week with renewed vigour of economic growth for the US. The Dow Jones Industrial Average blue chip market up by over 2% and the Nasdaq 100 up over 4%!
Tuesday's trading seemed all over the place, despite the news that the services sector in the US had grown at a bigger rate than expected, during February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq 100 had obviously fallen out and gone their separate ways - the Dow Jones down by almost 1.5% and the Nasdaq 100 up by just short of 0.5%.
Wednesday saw the Dow Jones Industrial back with renewed strength, after more investor confidence was shown for a US recovery. The Federal Reserve's Beige Book report highlighted a more positive outlook for US recovery. The technology indices also continued their run of gains. By close of play, the Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 each gained just short of 1.5%.
Thursday saw the Federal Reserve make positive comments about an economic recovery. However, feet were firmly set on the floor with Mr Greenspan (Chairman) indicating that the pace of recovery may be slow. Nevertheless, markets reacted cautiously, still waiting for accurate confirmation of employment news, due Friday. Projections show unemployment on the rise again. The Dow Jones ended Friday down by 0.5% and the Nasdaq 100 fell further, just short of 1%.
Friday saw better than expected news on the unemployment front - jobless numbers were actually down when an upward movement was expected. This news pushed the Dow Jones up to close almost 0.5% higher for the day and 2% higher for the week. The Nasdaq 100 added over 3% for the day and also closed higher for the week.