Stocks rallied on the final day of the quarter as the highly anticipated summit of European leaders produced bolder-than-expected measures. Eurozone leaders alleviated concerns that banks will fail by relaxing conditions on emergency bank loans, primarily to Spain. Earlier in the week, U.S. housing data provided evidence that the nascent recovery is gaining momentum. The Supreme Court upheld the validity of the majority of President Obama’s health care legislation. Friday’s gains boosted major U.S. indexes to their best monthly returns since October, but were not enough to erase losses for the quarter. Treasuries were little changed for the week. Gold finished higher.
Weekly Returns
S&P 500: 1,362 (+2.0%)
MSCI EAFE: (+3.0%)
U.S. 10-Year Treasury Yield: 1.66% (-0.02%)
Gold: $1,599 (+1.8%)
USD/EUR: $1.266 (+0.8%)
Major Events
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