This past week on the market was marked by one awful trading session and the subsequent three-day rally to gain it back. Although the three major indexes fell short, the general resiliency of the market was impressive. Let's take a closer look at the week that was for the Dow, some of its components, and a few other major news items.
As usual, the Greek debt drama dominated the news. The Mediterranean country finally struck a bond swap deal with its private creditors, which was technically ruled a default but in reality saw those creditors take nearly a 75% haircut after exchanging their current bonds for new issues. Greece still has a long way to go; its economy contracted a horrifying 7.5% last year after declining every year since 2008. One has to wonder whether debt restructuring and more austerity measures can fix the underlying problem.
With that short-term eurozone issue behind it and a continued sense of real recovery here at home, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
The biggest story of the week was Apple's new iPad debut. Pre-order demand for this product is overwhelming, and its release will directly affect both Dow telecom components and Apple partners AT&T
Another Dow component in the news this week was health-care conglomerate Johnson & Johnson
For the Dow, with the Greek debt deal behind us, all eyes will turn toward domestic data, including retail sales figures at the start of the week and inflation numbers toward the end. If the steady pace of the recovery continues, the market should resume its own steady climb and retake 13,000 this coming week.
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