Massive Week for Economic Data

[5:28pm ET] Despite the hiccup Friday in the US equity market, it was a ‘risk on’ week as the Four Horsemen (XLB-Basic Materials, XLY-Consumer Discretionary Spending, XLI-Industrials, and XLE-Energy) finally grabbed the leadership with gains this week of +3.72%, +3.02%, +2.34%, and +1.86% respectively. The S&P 500 (SPY) and Financials (XLF) lifted +1.82% also, along with all ten sectors rising, making it a clean sweep. Now, if only we could say that traders have finally swept away the Bear!

The following are the word from the G20 final communiqué that could weigh on the FX markets in coming days: - We will refrain from competitive devaluation. - We will not target our exchange rates for competitive purposes.

Business optimism is rising at its fastest rate since 2007, as fears over an imminent eurozone break-up abate, though companies are still opting for the safety-first option of hoarding cash.

By

Sumit Roy submits:EnergyCrude oil prices plummeted 8.6% last week as global economic slowdown fears took center stage. It was only Monday that oil was trading as high as $79.38, but as the negative news mounted, oil kept slipping; prices fell in each of the last five sessions.

Strong economic data from Japan helped ease fears that the country would suffer a double-dip recession and pushed the stock market to a 14-month high