YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Weekly Recap - Week ending 11-Dec-09What volatility there was this week really boiled down to two moves, a sharply lower open on Tuesday and a higher open on Thursday.  And with one big down move followed by one big up move, U.S. equity markets ended the week flat.  That makes four consecutive weeks now that the market has basically moved sideways, trading in a consolidation pattern.

Looking at the ten sectors that make up the S&P 500, they also closed the week mixed.  Utilities (+3.6%) led the four gainers, while Financials (-1.6%) led the six decliners.

Tuesday's dip came after ratings agency Moody's said the U.S. and U.K. must prove they can whittle down their ballooning deficits to avoid threats to their triple-A credit ratings.  The ratings agency set the two countries apart from other top-rated sovereign borrowers, calling them "resilient" rather than "resistant."

Specifically for the U.S., it would lose its top rating in 2013 if economic growth proves anemic, interest rates rise and the government fails to dent the deficit or recover most of its assistance to the Financial sector.  However, a situation of moderate growth and deficit reduction -- the path Moody's considers most likely -- while unfavorable in the near term, does not currently threaten the rating.

Thursday's morning advance could have been carryover from a modest afternoon rally the previous session, otherwise there was not one specific catalyst to explain the move.  The Claims data that morning was mixed, though the Trade Deficit for October came in better than expected, and the dollar showed little direction against the other major currencies.

The week's other economic data failed to provide support, despite coming in better than expected.  The bulk of it was released on Friday, including Retail Sales for November and Michigan Sentiment for December, but they gave a larger boost to the dollar than to the equity market.

Following last Friday's strong session, the greenback continued its rebound this week, at the same time capping any gains in the equity market.

Looking ahead to next week, the focus will be on the FOMC policy statement on Wednesday.  Investors will once again be looking for a change in the language, specifically if the Fed will continue to expect rates to stay at exceptionally low levels for "an extended period."  A change could help continue the recent rebound in the dollar, but once again that could limit any potential equity market gains.

Besides the FOMC, the economic calendar is crowded on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, with PPI and Industrial Production the first day followed by CPI and Housing Starts/Building Permits the next.  The earnings calendar will also pick up, with retailer Best Buy (BBY) reporting on Tuesday and tech companies Oracle (ORCL) and Research In Motion (RIMM) on Thursday.

Index	Started Week	Ended Week	Change	% Change	YTD %
DJIA	10388.90	10471.50	82.60	0.8	19.3
Nasdaq	2194.35	2190.31	-4.04	-0.2	38.9
S&P 500	1105.98	1106.41	0.43	0.0	22.5
Russell 2000	602.79	600.37	-2.42	-0.4	20.2