On a net basis, all the damage for the quarter was done in the days leading up to each Fed action. In the three trading days before each Fed move — a total of 15 days since there was some overlapping — the S.&P. 500 fell almost 145 points and the Dow Jones industrial average lost 1,003 points.

On the other 46 trading days during the quarter, a net nothing happened. The S&P was up about two points, and the Dow was down less than one point.

What we have here is a picture of a Fed that follows the market, and of a market that repeatedly rallies on the news of a Fed move, only to fall again as more bad news comes out.

Read the FULL ARTICLE from Floyd Norris of the New York Times.