Bump and Grind and All is Golden

Monday was the bump higher, Tuesday and Wednesday turned out to be significant grinders as investors regained confidence and continued to scoop up stocks since there's nothing else to buy besides maybe gold and treasuries, and the latter isn't granting much of a return these days.

Speculation is back in vogue, now that the latest crisis has passed from public view, though there will certainly be issues going forward, as always.

Dow 10,896.91, +148.65 (1.38%)
NASDAQ 2,425.02, +49.71 (2.09%)
S&P 500 1,171.67, +15.88 (1.37%)
NYSE Composite 7,316.36, +94.70 (1.31%)

Once again, advancing issues finished far ahead of decliners, 5470-1122; 195 new highs outpaced just 58 new lows. As much as the rally seemed vibrant and flourishing, volume declined for the third straight day, reinforcing the notion that while all the attention was focused on stocks going higher, there were wise guys taking some slivers of profit while the herd pushed to the extremes.

NYSE Volume 5,929,432,500.00
NASDAQ Volume 2,308,404,000.00

Gold continued to dominate the commodity space, breaking through to fresh all-time highs, another sign that global economies aren't quite as fit as their leaders would have you believe. The shiny stuff was up another $22.80, to $1,242.70 on the day. Silver gained 37 cents, to finish at $19.64. The metals have parted ways with oil significantly this week, as crude fell 72 cents to $75.65, while motorists are still anxiously awaiting a similar price reduction at the pump.

Despite the coming arrival of summer, oil, if the price were not so ham-handedly manipulated, could reach even lower levels around the $60/barrel mark by mid-July, though the sheiks and barons probably won't allow that to occur, instead focusing on limiting supply and choking consumers. Gold will continue to rocket higher in coming months unless sovereign economies actually discover fiscal integrity - an unlikely occurrence.