Stocks Pop, Then Drop As Commodity Rally Is Killed By Advancing Dollar

According to the Dollar Index, the value of the US Dollar improved dramatically on Monday against a basket of other major currencies. Exactly why this occurred is unknown, since the US dollar has been bleeding out for the better part of the past 16 months, stopping from a high of 105 in December 2016 to as low a 89.10 earlier this year.

From Sunday night through the opening of the stock markets on Monday morning, the dollar was improving at a rapid rate, shooting past 91.00 just prior to the opening bell.

That sudden move sent precious metals into free-fall, and oil down sharply as well. Stocks seemed to be sympathetic to the move at the start of trading, but, by midday the love affair was souring, and stocks retreated through the afternoon session, closing flat for the day.

Dow Jones Industrial Average April Scorecard:

Date	Close	Gain/Loss	Cum. G/L
4/2/18	23,644.19	-458.92	-458.92
4/3/18	24,033.36	+389.17	-69.75
4/4/18	24,264.30	+230.94	+161.19
4/5/18	24,505.22	+240.92	+402.11
4/6/18	23,932.76	-572.46	-170.35
4/9/18	23,979.10	+46.34	-134.01
4/10/18	24,407.86	+428.76	+294.66
4/11/18	24,189.45	-218.55	+76.11
4/12/18	24,483.05	+293.60	+369.71
4/13/18	24,360.14	-122.91	+247.80
4/16/18	24,573.04	+212.90	+460.70
4/17/18	24,786.63	+213.59	+674.29
4/18/18	24,748.07	-38.56	+635.73
4/19/18	24,664.89	-83.18	+552.55
4/20/18	24,462.94	-201.95	+350.60
4/23/18	24,448.69	-14.25	+336.35

At the Close, Monday, April 23, 2018:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 24,448.69, -14.25 (-0.06%)
NASDAQ: 7,128.60, -17.52 (-0.25%)
S&P 500: 2,670.29, +0.15 (+0.01%)
NYSE Composite: 12,610.77, +3.62 (+0.03%)