Smart Money,A vote of confidence in Europe and strong earnings at home have given the markets a little lift, but how soon the recovery gets back on track remains a matter of debate.
Stocks finished last week on a high note, as the results of stress tests for major European banks came in generally positive, and sparked a Friday rally. The S&P 500 rose 38 points, or 3.5%, for the week and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 327, or 3.2%, to 10425.
The threat of a worsening European downturn has weighed on stocks since the Greek debt crisis came to light at the end of the year, and anticipation over the test results remained high until word came that 84 of 91 European banks examined had passed tests about how they would fare if the economy got worse.
"Optimism abounds over the European bank stress tests," Gluskin Sheff chief economist David Rosenberg wrote Friday. Still, he added that "earlier concerns of a European economic meltdown have yet to occur," a statement that left open the possibility for more trouble. (more)
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