DJIA 12,422 S&P500 1,289 Nasdaq 2,710 Gold 1,640 Oil 98

The  Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEARCA:DIA), Nasdaq (NASDAQ:QQQ), and S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:SPY) all moved a bit higher this week as earnings season officially started. On the commodities front, Oil (NYSEARCA:USO) pulled back $3 after last week’s Iran threats, and Gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) rose a bit despite renewed QE3 rhetoric.

Trending Now: Global Factors Boost Gold and Silver Demand.

Now, for our analysis of the 15 reasons markets moved this week:

Monday

Today’s markets were up because:

1) Earnings. Though the three major indexed finished positive, markets were relatively flat today as investors awaited the next big driver: earnings season. Alcoa (NYSE:AA) kicks off the quarterly reports season after the closing bell, with analysts expecting the company to report big drop in profits. Overall, earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to be up 7.5 percent in the final three months of 2011.

2) Europe. Though earnings are expected to have increased last quarter as the U.S. economic recovery picked up and unemployment declined, investors remain nervous about the debt crisis in Europe. After meeting on Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that progress has been made on a so-called “fiscal compact” that would enforce stricter budget discipline in the euro zone.

3) Economy. Though the euro remained near a two-month low today, the correlation between U.S. stocks and the euro seems to be breaking down as investors focus more on economic fundamentals. Consumer credit increased at an annual rate of $9.9 billion in November to $20.4 billion, the Federal Reserve reported today.

Tuesday

1) Europe. Fitch Ratings said today that Europe is on the right path toward solving its debt problems, while reiterating the agency’s December stance that it does not plan to downgraded AAA-rated France this year. The ratings agency will give a decision on all European countries it currently has on negative watch by the end of the month, but though the company indicated there’s a “significant chance” that Italy will be downgraded, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti was in the news today saying he would unveil a package of measures meant to encourage competition and expansion and stimulate economic growth at a meeting of European Union finance ministers later this month.

2) Earnings. An upbeat report from Alcoa (NYSE:AA) kicked off earnings season after the bell on Monday, with investors brushing off the company’s fourth-quarter loss, instead focusing on the fact that the nation’s largest aluminum producer topped sales estimates and issued a positive outlook for aluminum demand in 2012. Though no major corporate reports are scheduled for today, Lennar (NYSE:LEN) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) are on deck for this week.

3) Banks. Financial stocks led today’s rally, with Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) surging 6 percent, making it the best performer on the Dow. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) were both up around 4 percent, while Citigroup (NYSE:C) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) each rose more than 2 percent.

Wednesday

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