Despite it being a shortened holiday week, there was a lot going on.

It has been far too long since I’ve been able to say the markets finished higher this week.

The stock markets struggled again this week, posting its biggest one-day drop since 2020.

It was another week of declines, punctuated by a few reasons for hope.

Market optimism continues to evaporate as headline after headline continues to roil investing sentiment.

There are times when investor sentiment turns so sour that the good gets thrown out with the bad.

There simply wasn’t anywhere to hide this week as the markets began digesting first quarter earnings announcements.

I usually start by stating something like, “the markets moved higher this week” or “we look to close flat this week.”

This last week of the quarter finished mostly flat with a bit of profit taking on the last day.

While the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat for the week, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq eked out 1.5% and 2% gains respectively