Bulls struggled to continue

Bulls struggled to continue their momentum this week as rising growth concerns, weakness in Europe, and disappointing domestic economic data impacted on investor sentiment. Last week's short-covering rally lifted all major sectors. The most rate-sensitive securities received a boost from the sharp decline in Treasury rates, while most stocks benefited from the decline in commodity prices. That, however, was unable to fend off the danger of a world recession. Even though the broad-based S&P 500 nevertheless experienced the worst first half of a year in more than five decades, European assets suffered the most while U.S.-focused equities held up rather well.