Dow's Dramatic Comeback 4th-Best in History

That was something to behold.

Not only did the Dow open down a whopping 500 points, but it battled back and forth across the unchanged line - as did the other major indices - until finally launching itself into a hyperbolic ascent in the final hour of the session.

While the Dow's rise was the 4th-biggest point gain in its long history, there's still work to be done. Just to get back what it lost last Friday and Monday of this week will take two more days of equal heavy lifting, something that is unlikely unless one lives on the planet Utopia, where unicorns spit skittles and money grows on trees.

Even more daunting may be the return to all-time highs (26,616.71), a mere 1,700+ points away. It could happen. It very well may happen. However, if it does, stocks will once again be more expensive than ever before (they are still).

The market action over the past week has been a warm-up, conditioning the masses for more carnage to commence and shaking out the weak - or wise - hands. Those who cannot allocate by themselves (like people with 401ks or government retirement plans) will be stuck with whatever the fund managers deem prudent. Call them bag-holders.

The swift and the wise are playing the ups-and-downs, though that was quite the challenge in today's session. Volatility has returned and it should be pointed out that some of the greatest one-day gains (in fact, the two largest occurred in the fall of 2008) happened in bear markets.

The fun has just begun.

At the Close, Tuesday, January 6, 2018:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 24,912.77, +567.02 (+2.33%)
NASDAQ: 7,115.88, +148.36 (+2.13%)
S&P 500: 2,695.14, +46.20 (+1.74%)
NYSE Composite: 12,745.45, +172.53 (+1.37%)