The Market Giveth, The Market Taketh Away, And Giveth Again

Stocks went on a wild ride Thursday, a phenomenon confounding to novice investors but completely understood by market observers who have been in the game for a few decades or more.

There's little doubt that the Dow's plunge of 600 points and last-hour rally were the work of the Plunge Protection Team, or PPT, or as they are formally known, the President's Working Group on Financial Markets.

Here are a few links for reference:

Mnuchin Calls Plunge Protection Team; Stocks Soar One Day Later

President's Working Group on Financial Markets

Happy Holidays!

You've been played.

Dow Jones Industrial Average December Scorecard:

Date	Close	Gain/Loss	Cum. G/L
12/3/18	25,826.43	+287.97	+287.97
12/4/18	25,027.07	-799.36	-511.39
12/6/18	24,947.67	-79.40	-590.79
12/7/18	24,388.95	-558.72	-1149.51
12/10/18	24,423.26	+34.31	-1115.20
12/11/18	24,370.24	-53.02	-1168.22
12/12/18	24,527.27	+157.03	-1011.19
12/13/18	24,597.38	+70.11	-941.08
12/14/18	24,100.51	-496.87	-1437.95
12/17/18	23,592.98	-507.53	-1945.58
12/18/18	23,675.64	+82.66	-1862.92
12/19/18	23,323.66	-351.98	-2214.90
12/20/18	22,859.60	-464.06	-2678.96
12/21/18	22,445.37	-414.23	-3093.19
12/24/18	21,792.20	-653.17	-3746.36
12/26/18	22,878.45	+1086.25	-2660.11
12/27/18	23,138.82	+260.37	-2399.74

At the Close, Thursday, December 27, 2018:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 23,138.82, +260.37 (+1.14%)
NASDAQ: 6,579.49, +25.14 (+0.38%)
S&P 500: 2,488.83, +21.13 (+0.86%)
NYSE Composite: 11,285.31, +81.22 (+0.72%)