Traders Shrug, Stocks Rip Higher

Bear market in Emerging Markets? No problem.

Upcoming Fed rate hike? Why worry?

Trade war with China? Nah.

The general attitude on Tuesday - following a somewhat dismal start to the week - seemed to be the old "buy the dip" mantra that boosted stocks high for most of the last ten years in the extended bull market.

As long as nothing major appears to disrupt the global money flow, traders in New York seem to be content buying stocks at just about any price, any multiple, any day, any time.

Tuesday's trading was a textbook example of momentum trading on the absence of news, good, bad, or otherwise. Stocks got off to a solid start and added to their gains throughout the session, with the markets in lockstep for a change.

The Dow was led higher by a wide swatch of companies, from Boeing (BA) to Nike (NKE), to Pfizer (PFE), Intel (INTC), and Home Depot (HD), all of which gained more than one percent on the day. 25 of 30 Dow components were winners, with just five losing ground.

Blue chips closed at their best level since the end of January, eclipsing the losses incurred in February and March, which are now fading into the deep recesses of trading memory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is less than 400 points from making a new all-time high. Such a move would negate the Dow Theory bear market signal issued in April, as the Dow Transportation Index has already broken above its previous high.

Dow Jones Industrial Average September Scorecard:

Date	Close	Gain/Loss	Cum. G/L
9/4/18	25,952.48	-12.34	-12.34
9/5/18	25,974.99	+22.51	+10.17
9/6/18	25,995.87	+20.88	+31.05
9/7/18	25,916.54	-79.33	-48.28
9/10/18	25,857.07	-59.47	-107.75
9/11/18	25,971.06	+113.99	+6.24
9/12/18	25,998.92	+27.86	+34.10
9/13/18	26,145.99	+147.07	+181.17
9/14/18	26,154.67	+8.68	+189.85
9/17/18	26,062.12	-92.55	+97.30
9/18/18	26,246.96	+184.84	+282.14

At the Close, Tuesday, September 18, 2018:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 26,246.96, +184.84 (+0.71%)
NASDAQ: 7,956.11, +60.32 (+0.76%)
S&P 500: 2,904.31, +15.51 (+0.54%)
NYSE Composite: 13,091.98, +60.07 (+0.46%)