Are Stock Market Surprises Around the Corner?

S&P 500 Index declines for the first week in seven

Friday brought a rally for the S&P 500 Index (NYSEARCA:SPY) and other major U.S. stock indexes, however, for the week, the S&P 500 Index (NYSEARCA:SPY) and most other major U.S. indexes declined.

The S&P 500 Index (NYSEARCA:SPY) fell 0.3% on the week, the Nasdaq (NYSEARCA:QQQ) lost 1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEARCA:DIA) eked out a 0.1% gain, managing to barely reclaim the coveted 14,000 level with a closing price of 14,000.57.

In other major markets, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) gained 0.19% on Friday to close at $1579.60 while oil (NYSEARCA:USO) added 0.3% to finish the week at $93.27.  Both gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) and oil (NYSEARCA:USO) suffered sharp declines as the future of the Federal Reserve’s program of quantitative easing came into doubt after release of the FOMC meeting minutes on Wednesday…