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A record result for retail sales albeit off a low base, up 16.3% in May, triggered another strong rally in the ASX 200 (ASX:XJO), though it wasn’t enough to offset the threat of more shutdowns with the market finishing up just 0.1% for the day and 1.6% for the week

Global markets continued their recent trend, forgiving recent COVID-19 outbreak spikes and poor unemployment to finish slightly down on yesterday.

The US market ended its winning streak overnight, with the Dow Jones (IND:DJI) retreating 0.6%, the S&P 500 (IND:SPX) -0.4%, with the NASDAQ (NASDAQ:NDAQ) once again immune from any weakness, adding 0.1%.

CNBC reportedly coined the phrase ‘Kangaroo’ market today with commentators giving on predicting its direction. The term best describes the daily experience of investors as the market ‘bounces’ around.

Fed to the rescue The ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) caught up to Wall Street’s Friday falls, dropping another 2.2% and taking the losing streak to three consecutive days. The weakness was driven by a combination of cyclicals and the financial sector, with energy down another 3.4% along with consumer discretionary. Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX:WES) lead the sector…

It was a mixed end to the week for the ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) falling 1.9% but recovering from intra-day lows of 3.4% as US markets showed investors were ‘buying the dip’.

Sharemarkets around the world capitulated on Thursday as concerns of a second wave of the Coronavirus hit the US, the S&P 500 shedding (SPX:IND) 5.9% with only one constituent, grocery retailer Kroger’s Inc. (NYSE:KR) posting a positive return.

The ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) managed to hold onto a small gain on Wednesday, adding 3.5 points despite dropping 1% at the open. CSL Ltd (ASX:CSL) almost singlehandedly floated the market, with its 2.6% rally adding 10 points to the ASX 200 alone.

The ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) delivered a sixth straight day of gains, taking the run to over 6%, as it finished up 2.4% on Tuesday following the public holiday in Victoria.

The ASX 200 finished a sixth straight week in positive territory, adding 4.2%, but gaining just 0.1% on Friday.

The S&P 500 broke three straight days of gains, falling 0.2% as investors seemingly became exhausted from an extended rally. This despite unemployment benefits slowing and announced recoveries in domestic flights.

The Australian economy is now experiencing its first recession in close to 30 years. The initial impact of the COVID-19 outbreak sent domestic GDP down -0.3% in the March quarter, with experts predicting a contraction of as much as -8.4% in June.